


Finding Neverland

by just_another_classic



Series: Finding Neverland [2]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Neverland (Once Upon a Time), Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-27
Updated: 2018-09-05
Packaged: 2018-09-20 04:50:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 39,594
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9476474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/just_another_classic/pseuds/just_another_classic
Summary: History has a funny way of repeating itself. Juliet Jones learns this the hard way as she finds herself thrown decades into the past, and tasked with ensuring that her parents fall in love. (CS movie redux)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Months and months ago, I received a prompt asking for me to write the CS movie but with the Captain Swan offspring. I came up with an idea, and then promptly distracted myself by writing Roses in December. But, finally, I feel as if this story is ready to be posted. 
> 
> So, here's the story I've been talking about: Romeo and Juliet in Neverland. Special thanks to thegladelf and sambethe for being sounding boards months ago.

_“We can sail away tonight_  
On a sea of pure moonlight  
We can navigate the stars to bring us back home  
In a place so far away  
We'll be young that's how we'll stay every wish is our command  
We will find ourselves in never Neverland”  
\-- Finding Neverland

 

**Chapter 1**

It begins with a villain, a stolen child, a portal – heroes rallying in barren Storybrooke farmland to save the day. It’s routine.

(Funny how life-and-death experiences become routine, isn’t it?)  
  
And, as always, they succeed. The villain loses, the baby is passed into the arms of her terrified father, and their party breaks away to celebrate and take comfort in one another. Except—

“Shouldn’t you be back at the hospital?”  
  
Juliet looks over her shoulder to see Gideon approaching her from behind. In his hands is an overlarge canteen that he hands to her without preamble. It’s hot chocolate, with just a hint of cinnamon – her favorite. He stands next to her, not saying anything, clearly waiting for a response. She takes a long pull of her drink before answering.

“Someone should watch the portal to see if it reopens.” 

She expects him to argue that her reason is silly. Instead, he simply huffs out a sigh, and she watches how it crystalizes in the cold, winter air. “Yeah, but it’s your niece who was kidnapped today.” 

“Your niece too.” Juliet casts him significant glare, to which he shrugs in response. “Look, that’s exactly why I’m here. My mom and grandpa clearly wanted to be at the hospital with Henry and Cassidy, and Neal is dealing with the rest of the Storybrooke shit, so that’s the entire police department otherwise being occupied. So, viola, here I am.”

“You do realize you’re an art dealer, and not a cop,” he teases, bumping into her side. She only glares. It’s true that back in New York, she works in a gallery, but they both know life in Storybrooke is different. Her occupation doesn’t matter her – her blood and magic does. Gideon turns to her, suddenly serious “Why don’t you head back to town, and I can babysit the portal. Give Cassidy a big kiss for me.”

“You do know you’re a medical resident, not a portal babysitter,” she replies, mirroring his tone from earlier. Her statement earns a smile, and Juliet wishes she could mirror it, and revel in his steadfastness. Instead, he hugs her drink tighter. “Do you think life will always be like this for Cassidy? Like it’s been for us?”

Gideon doesn’t answer, and his expression turns grim as the weight of her questions settles over him. Life hasn’t been particularly easy or normal for either of them. Him, practically living a life in the dark realm before some magic mumbo jumbo righted his age. Her, the product of True Love – a girl who always grew up with target on her back. In New York, it’s easy to forget the tumultuous nature of the lives back home, but the moment they cross the town line – as they did when they received Henry’s excited call about his daughter’s impending birth – they are fiercely reminded.

“I don’t know, but she has us if things inevitably go to shit,” Gideon says, reaching out and twining his fingers with her own. She doesn’t shy away from the show of affection, but instead allows it to ground her. “Now, go on now, go see your family.”

“They’re your family too, you know.”

“Yeah, I’m sure your dad would agree with that,” he insists with a roll of his eyes. “Now go before we both freeze to death.”

She doesn’t get a chance to heed his words, because the next thing Juliet knows is that the ground is shaking, and the world is erupting in a blast of light. She drops the canteen, the hot chocolate spilling over the ground and her jeans. Juliet hears Gideon call for her, feels his hand tighten around on hers, and she is overwhelmed with the sensation of falling. As she is pulled into the portal, she thinks how she is grateful she isn't alone. 

-/-

Neverland is nothing how Emma Swan imagined it to be. As a child, she had fantasized about it quite a bit, dreaming of the fictional (or so she thought) land as sort of a respite from the horrors and darkness of her disappointing (to put it mildly) childhood. Never growing up in a land with mermaids, pirates, pixies, and boys who could fly sounded infinitely more interesting than growing up bouncing from home to home of families who didn’t want her.  
  
As it stands, Neverland, like all things in her life, does not turn out how she expected. 

Peter Pan is a menace, one who is trying to harm her son. The Lost Boys are lost – truly lost – and nothing like the fun-loving children she once envisioned befriending in her younger years. Not to mention the fact that Captain Hook is equal parts intriguing and infuriating, a man who somehow manages to get under her skin in more ways than one, ways that she certainly can’t ponder during her mission to rescue Henry.

But what strikes her as the strangest in this rather strange land was the fact that people can apparently fall from the sky out of mysterious orange portals that appear out of nowhere.

“Is this normal?” Emma asks Hook, her cutlass raised, unsure if the young man and woman in front of them are friend or foe. Judging from the alarmed expression on Hook’s face, and the speed in which he draws his own sword, he iss just as surprised by the whole ordeal.

She feels her stomach lurch, and a bubble of worry forms. Hook is the one person she can trust about the island, and if he is worried…

“What the fuck,” the man groans out, only to cut himself off as he looks up to notice that he is staring down the pointed end of a blade. ““Please tell me I’m hallucinating.” 

“If it’s a hallucination, it’s mutual,” the woman replies, eyes darting between Emma and Hook.  
  
Emma studies them carefully. She can’t help but notice that they are dressed in clothing from her world. A sick thought comes to mind. “Are you working with Greg and Tamara?”

“Who?”  
  
Their confusion doesn’t register her lie detector, but she tightens her grip on her blade nonetheless. It’s entirely possible that Pan could have minions anywhere. “What about Pan? You know him?”

“Wait—Pan? As in Peter Pan?” The woman’s eyes widen in realization. “Oh my God, are we in Neverland? This is Neverland. We’re in Neverland. Oh my God.”

The unfamiliar woman looks as if she is about to hyperventilate, while her companion looks equally unhappy. In Emma’s opinion, they seem more afraid by their location than the blades. She senses that they’re not working with Pan, but clearly the idea of Neverland bothers them. Could they potentially have bad blood? She casts a sidelong glance to Hook. His face is drawn in consternation as if he’s thinking the same thing as her.

 “Yes, love, you’re in Neverland,” he says with a sneer. “And that shouldn’t come as a surprise. Not too many people simply end up here by surprise.”

It was the man who gives an answer. “There was a portal back home, but we didn’t summon it. Someone else did, and we fell through. Prior to that, I was wishing for a place I could take my girlfriend away, and we ended up here. Neverland’s a place you run away to, right?”

He casts a significant glance to the woman by his side – his girlfriend, apparently. That, too, doesn’t raise any of Emma’ instinctual alarms. She stares at the woman – who looks no older than twenty-five – and she feels an unbidden wave of sympathy.

“Okay, so you aren’t dealing with Pan,” Emma says evenly. “So, who are you?”

“I’m—I’m…” 

The man cuts in. “We’re Romeo and Juliet.” 

Emma’s jaw drops. Of all the things she expected in Neverland, this is not it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Section breaks indicate a POV change between Emma and Juliet!

“I can’t believe Romeo and Juliet are in Neverland.”

“Are they particularly notorious in your realm?”

“They’re like the most famous love story from my world,” Emma explains in a whisper to Hook as they head back to camp, Romeo and Juliet behind them. The couple has their wrists bound in vines, a concession they had made as an agreement to let them follow. They hadn’t intended to come to Neverland, and seemed quite eager to find a way off. _“We’ll do anything,”_ Romeo had pleaded as Hook held a blade to his throat. And that was when Emma had suggested bringing them along. 

“So their fame leads you to believe we can trust them?” Hook inquires as he leads her through the flora of Neverland. It’s a testament to Hook’s resourcefulness that Emma so easily forgets his unfamiliarity with her world. To her, Romeo and Juliet’s story is common knowledge. It appears to not be so much in the Enchanted Forest or Neverland.

“In the stories, they weren’t villains,” she answers with a shrug. “It’s more that I feel bad for them. They both die in the end.”  
  
“Ah, and you think by helping them, you might be able to prevent it from happening.” 

She casts a glance back to the star-crossed lovers, who seem to be having a whisper argument of their own. Distracted by their conversation, Juliet trips over the root, falling to the ground with a large thud that causes Emma to wince. Together, she and Hook watch as Romeo attempts to help his girlfriend stand, his efforts hindered by his bound wrists. Emma feels a surge of hope that Shakespeare had been wrong about these two, and wishes that they could find their happily ever after.  
  
Though she still isn’t comfortable with the whole Savior thing, but she doesn’t want to see anyone die. And even if they weren’t Romeo and Juliet, the possibility of them dying in Neverland is high. She feels the persistent knot in her stomach tighten as she thinks of Henry, and she wants nothing more than to save him. She knows if given the choice, she would choose saving him over Romeo and Juliet – no question – but she feels compelled to at least try.

“Well, if anyone can prevent their untimely deaths, I’m sure you can, Swan.”  
  
Emma’s heart twists at Hook’s comment, and she is suddenly glad for the heat of the hike already making her skin flush, because she feels the heat of the blush across her skin. He says his statements with such conviction – as if it is the most obvious thing the world that she can play hero.

She doesn’t know how to handle Hook when he is being earnest. She can combat innuendos easily. A flirty wink here or there is manageable. But when he looks at her with such belief, she feels as if she was standing on uneven ground and could fall at any point. It is terrifying, and precisely why she left him on the beanstalk all those weeks ago.  
  
In an effort to break the tension, she looks back to Romeo and Juliet.

“Are you two alright?”

“Peachy keen, Miss Swan,” Romeo calls back as Juliet rolls her eyes and mutters something about hating “this bloody island.”  
  
Both Emma and Hook miss the fact they never told the couple her last name.  


-/-

 

She knows about Neverland.  
  
In school, her teacher had made her class read J.M. Barrie’s classic. Juliet had been the one to point out everything that had been wrong, resulting in her teacher requesting a parent-teacher conference. How the meeting went Juliet doesn’t know, though she’s wished ever since she could have been present to witness how Miss Stuart had attempted to explain to _Captain Hook_ that his daughter was quite (obnoxiously) insistent on calling _Peter Pan_ “bloody awful.” Even so, that meeting had resulted in both her parents sitting her down and reminding her that though stories can be factually wrong, they can still teach us lessons.  
  
(It didn’t stop her father, however, from treating her to her favorite ice cream.)  
  
Her parents never really enjoyed talking about their adventures in Neverland. Her father had always said it was a bad place, but where he first fell in love with her mother, but left it at that. Her mother had said it sucked. Juliet knows, however, more of the story. She’s read Henry’s books, after all, and listened to him weave the tale of his own experience.  
  
Everything she’s gleaned has matched her parents’ descriptions: Neverland is a bad place.

Now she is here in the bad place, her hands bound, knees aching from her earlier fall. And worst yet of all is that she’s been captured by the past versions of her parents.  
  
Time travel is also something Juliet knows a thing or two about.

That is a story her parents had never been shy about hiding – how they’d almost accidentally written her mother out of existence, ensured Snow White and Prince Charming fell in love, and in turn, fell a little bit deeper in love themselves along the way. Despite the romance of the whole thing, Juliet had also learned that time travel is also a very bad thing.  
  
In short, she’s screwed. 

“We’ll be fine,” Gideon tells her in a whisper as the follow her parents. “We’ll join in on the effort to rescue Henry, and then find a way home back once we get to Storybrooke. Besides, it will give you something else to lord over Henry.”  
  
His teasing isn’t appreciated, but his plan has merit. Though she isn’t too keen on sticking around her parents and potentially disrupting the timeline, she honestly has no idea how to even leave the island. They could stay for decades and hope that someone comes to find them – her father had been stuck here for centuries – but she’d much rather not. In Storybrooke, they’d have access to the pawn shop and library, except – 

“The curse,” she gasps a bit too loudly. Both she and Gideon whip their heads forward to the figures ahead of them. Neither Hook nor Emma seem to have noticed, and she sighs in relief. Juliet lowers her voice as she speaks, “Pan’s curse. In Storybrooke, we’d have an incredibly limited time to get home.”

In short, they’re screwed.

-/-

 

“You can’t be serious. They’re not stray dogs in need of a home. They’re potentially dangerous.”

As expected, Regina is furious, David is wary, and Mary Margaret just stares at the couple with a sad sort of expression that screams “you die in your story.”

“Are you sure we can trust them?” David asks, eyes flicking back to the still-bound couple that is sitting a few meters away. “You know, that they aren’t working for Pan as a spy?”  
  
“When they got here, we asked them if they were working for Pan, and they said it didn’t. It didn’t set of any alarms,” Emma explains, wincing at her answer. She know it sounds weak, and if anyone had been telling her the same thing, she wouldn’t believe it either.

She doesn’t know how to explain she has the same feelings about them as she did about Hook at the beanstalk. And though she can’t really afford for her instinct to be wrong with Henry’s life at stake, Hook’s presence on this mission strengthens her the resolve not to abandon the couple.

“You can’t honestly expect us to believe in that stupid lie detector of yours,” Regina snaps, rolling her eyes and raising her hands upwards as if questioning the gods. 

“Actually, yes, we should,” Hook cuts in, and Emma is both annoyed and grateful at his support.

“Please, we only know you’re sticking up for Emma because you think it’s the easiest way to convince her to fuck you.”

“Enough!”  
  
It is David who yells this, and Emma is thankful for his interjection. She glances over to her captives, both of whom are staring at the group with wide eyes. Juliet appears more confused than anything, and Romeo looks to be trying – and failing – to contain a laugh. They don’t look like killers, or minions of Pan. Then again, neither did Tamara and Greg, but Emma had been able to sense their untrustworthiness.

As if reading her mind, Mary Margaret says, “Look, Emma is good with these things. She had a bad feeling about Greg and Tamara, and was right. If she thinks we can trust Romeo and Juliet, then we trust them.”

Mary Margaret beams at Emma. Emma knows she should feel grateful for her support, but all she wants to do was curl inside and hide. She isn’t accustomed to this parental support, and doubts she ever would be. 

“Besides,” Hook adds in a low whisper, his expression dark, “when Pan does decide to stage attack, we have more bodies to throw his way. Your stories do say they die, maybe this is how.”

 

-/-

 

Juliet cannot sleep.  
  
She blames it partially on the conditions. The ground is hard and unyielding, she’s using Gideon’s sweater as a pillow, and her coat as a blanket. It’s not what she’s used to, and she longs for her bed back in New York with the large pillows and mountains of blankets. But as she listens to the crackle of the fire and Gideon’s soft snores, she knows that’s only a small part of it.

In the dark, she can make out her grandfather moving about the camp, keeping watch in case that Pan or the Lost Boys stage an attack. She has to remind herself to call him David. He’s just a stranger to her now, not yet the man who taught her how to ride a horse or would sneak her candy behind her grandmother’s back.

She’s not used to seeing them all so young. Her family’s dynamic is so different than what she’s used. Her mother keeps her distance from her father, and her grandparents don’t seem to like him very much. When they aren’t trying to connect with her mother, they’re making digs at his untrustworthiness and piracy. Juliet knows they didn’t always like her, but it still feels wrong to witness it.  
  
But seeing the way her family interacts is nowhere near as unsettling as the way they look at her – like she’s a stranger, like she shouldn’t be trusted. Even her mother, who had pled their case, still studies them with doubt, as if she’s reconsidering her position.

It hurts. 

She rolls away from the fire and her grandfather toward Gideon. She’s glad he’s here, that she isn’t alone in this mess. They haven’t had time alone to really talk, but she wants to thank him for not letting her go, for falling into this mess without question, and for grounding her.

He’s been that person for her for quite awhile now, ever since she stepped into New York City wide-eyed and a little too idealistic about life outside of Storybrooke might be. He’d been starting his final year at NYU, and though she was at Columbia, he’d taken the train uptown to visit her often. He had confessed to her that it was nice to have someone to talk to about things back home for once, someone nearby. And Juliet had quickly learned how difficult it could be to navigate life having to hide certain parts of her life from others.  
  
It’s gotten less difficult over time, she thinks, her family coming to mind.

But it had been years since the early days of their budding friendship. She had long since graduated from Columbia, a degree in Art History under her belt, and an ill-paying, but stable, job at a gallery to add to her resume. He has finished medical school, and is working on his residency. And maybe most important, they have each other, even in the past.

Juliet burrows herself against his chest, and takes comfort in his warmth and smell. Maybe Gideon is right. Maybe, just maybe, everything will be fine. She just has to have faith.  
  
This is, after all, Neverland.


	3. Chapter 3

“What’s Henry like?”

If someone were to ask Juliet this, she would say that he’s a bit of a pain in the ass, needlessly self-righteous in the protective older brother kind of way. But this time, she's the one asking her mother, as strange as it seems. But, she's trying to play a role. As far as her mother is concerned, Juliet is nothing more than a stranger dragged into a rescue mission. Naturally, Juliet-the-Stranger would ask about the person she's rescuing. She hopes she sounds genuine.

To Juliet’s relief, Emma smiles at the question. She honestly hadn’t seen her mother’s past version smile since she arrived in Neverland. It pleases Juliet to know that she's the one to make her smile.   
  
“He’s a fantastic kid,” Emma tells her. “He’s the type of kid that sees the best in people, and never gives up on you.”  
  
Unbidden, the thought _“so what changed?”_ springs to mind, but Juliet tamps it down. There’s no need for her to focus on her hang-ups now. “He must be, judging by how many people are here to save him.”

A shadow of something she can’t quite name crosses Emma’s face, but it disappears quickly and is replaced with a smile. “Yeah, he’s has a huge family that will do anything for him.”  
  
Juliet returns Emma’s smile, feeling accomplished. Maybe she has this time travel thing down after all.

-/-

Romeo and Juliet don’t seem to be hindering whatever progress they’ve made in Neverland, which is admittedly very little. It itches at Emma how close she is to Henry, but also so far away. She refuses to allow her desperation to slow her down, however, swearing that she will find her son no matter what. But, Emma has to admit that it's nice to have something to distract her when her emotions feel too overwhelming.  
  
Romeo and Juliet serve as a perfect diversion, not just from her own fears surrounding Henry, but from conflicting emotions surrounding her parents and Hook. With the couple here, she can avoid thinking about Hook's innuendos or her parents pushing her to bond.Though she wasn't the best the best student in school, she knows enough about their story -- starcrossed lover, feuding families, tragic ends. She's not sure how much reality mirrors the play -she's learned that the books are rarely correct - but she's curious to find out. 

Emma isn’t the only one wondering, because as they hike, Mary Margaret peppers them with questions. No one in the party has let on that they know who the couple’s identities, or their supposed tragic end, but her mother is curious enough to inquire about their lives, and clever enough to ask leading questions to get the couple into familiar territory.

  
“Do they not like each other? Why?” Mary Margaret asks, after Romeo had revealed that his and Juliet’s reason for hiding their relationship had been familial drama.  
  
Romeo and Juliet share a glance, almost as if challenging the other to answer. No doubt that they’d both heard conflicting and biased stories over the course of their life.

“What other reason could there be?” Romeo answers with a shrug of his shoulders. “It was a woman.”  
  
From up ahead, Emma hears Hook laugh, and she wonders if he is thinking of his own feud with Rumplestiltskin. Juliet, however, doesn’t think it is so funny, and she elbows her boyfriend in the ribs.

“What he’s trying to say is that a very long time ago, the wife of one of the Montagues ran away with a Capulet, and it led to a lot of bloodshed and sadness,” Juliet explains in an annoyed tone. Emma see Hook stiffen up ahead, confirmation that their story hits a little close to home for him. She longs to reach out to him, but thinks better of it. Instead, she stays behind and listens to the story of Romeo and Juliet.

-/- 

Juliet wishes she had the book that detailed her family’s experience in Neverland.  
  
Though she’s familiar with what happened, the course of events leading to Henry’s “rescue” are muddled in her mind. She’s forgotten how long they were on the island, when they met Tinkerbell, or a number of things that apparently happened.  
  
What she does know is that she’s somewhat bored, and when she’s not bored, she’s terrified that she and Gideon had done something wrong to disrupt the timeline. It’s just that _nothing_ is happening.  
  
They hike. They rest. Her family bickers. Repeat steps one through three. It’s enough to drive a woman mad.  
  
She understands their unrest. She’d felt it too when Cassidy had been missing. She’s feeling it now with her desire to get home. But at home, things are different. Her family works as a unit. Sure, tempers may occasionally flare (sometimes hers, other times Robin’s), or another person might act overbearing (always Henry), but it hadn’t been this. They all trusted one another. That trust doesn’t exist here.

“This is miserable,” she tells Gideon during one of the rare moments they have alone. She tucks herself into his side, and his arm goes automatically around her shoulders.  
  
“Chin up,” he says, pressing a kiss on her temple. “Look at it this way, it’s our first adventure together. It can’t be all that miserable.” 

“I thought Atlantic City was our first adventure together,” she replies with a grimace – her bank account would describe that trip as a _misadventure_. “Besides, with my entire family here, I doubt we could get away with the tequila body shots.”

“Rum body shots, maybe. Your dad seems to have enough of it,” he teases, earning an elbow to his ribs. Her father and body shots aren’t anything she wants to think about together. He groans, but pulls her closer. “I meant first magical adventure, by the way.”

“We’ve had a ton of magical adventures.”

“But this one’s just you and me,” he says with a goofy grin. “Sure your family is here, but they think we’re fated to die, and it’s kind of amusing to see all those sad looks your grandma is giving us.”

Juliet laughs, as her grandmother’s lack of subtlety is apparently the one thing that hasn’t changed. Gideon watches her, a victorious smile blooming on his face. “There it is. I knew I could make you smile.”

 “You are such a dork.”

“Ah, my lady, but I’m your dork.” He pulls her into a kiss, and for a brief moment, her worries begin to ebb away.

-/-

 

Emma’s hope is rekindled via a map provided by Pan.  
  
The logical side of her brain argues that this map is not to be trusted, and that Hook is right in his insistence for her to play by Pan’s rules, lest their party face consequences. It is her desperation, however, that pushes her forward to go along with Regina’s plan.  
  
She should have known to trust her instincts.

The sounds of swords clashing and arrows flying fill the small clearing as Emma attempts to fight off one the Lost Boys who had attacked her in the ambush. She chances a glance behind her, hoping that everyone is unharmed. Everyone appears to be holding their own, and for a brief moment she allows herself to feel pride at her parents’ resilience.  
  
But then an arrow soars past her head, barely missing her ear, and she focuses back on the task at hand: not dying.

She manages to tackle the boy she’s fighting. As she looks at him, she is struck by his youth. She’s always known the Lost Boys were, well, _boys_ , but it is all the more apparent in this moment.  
  
Then she hears a cry.   
  
Both she and the boy turn to follow the sound, and Emma gasps. Romeo is on the ground, his arms raised in defense as one of the lost boys raises his sword high. Everything seems to slow in that moment. No one on her side is nearby to deflect the sword, though out of the corner of her eyes she can see Hook futilely moving toward the downed ally.

Unable to look away, she watches the Lost Boy swing downwards. From somewhere she cannot see, Juliet screams.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As a reminder, sections breaks mean changes in POV!

She’s read the books, heard the stories.  
  
The loss of her father’s first love sent him on a centuries-long revenge quest. The tragedy of a lost love sent Regina down the path to becoming the Evil Queen. Her grandmother split her heart in two as not to be separated from her True Love. Her mother marched into the depths of hell to save hers.  
  
When she had been younger, Juliet had occasionally – and morbidly – wondered what she would do in that situation. Surely she wouldn’t become a villain if she lost the person she loved. But being as young as she had been, she could also hardly imagine loving someone so much she’d be willing to spilt apart of herself. So what would she do?  
  
But now, as she watches a Lost Boy swing down his sword toward Gideon, Juliet Jones knows one thing: she’s not quite ready to find out.  
  
Terror courses through her veins, running her blood cold and breath short. She can’t think properly, but moves on instinct, throwing her hands forward to save him. Juliet feels the magic spark in her fingertips, and she presses it outward, praying to whomever would listen that it will be enough.  
  
The Lost Boy is thrown back, sword in hand. For a moment, the entire world freezes, all eyes on her. Tears prick at the corner of her eyes as she surges forward, ignorant to the rest of the world around her. Gideon lays on the ground, skin pale and sweat blooming across his brow. His shirt is torn, and there is a long gash across his chest.

“It’s only a flesh wound,” he says, a poor attempt at humor, but Juliet can see the fear in his eyes.  
  
From somewhere behind her, Juliet can hear Pan call for a retreat, and the next thing she knows is that her father is by her side. She wants to throw her arms around him, beg him for his encouragement. But it’s not him, not really, and he stands mutely next to her, his expression grim. He expects Gideon to die.  
  
He won’t. He _can’t_. Juliet’s hands hover over his chest as she tries to remember how to summon healing magic. Healing spells have never come easy to her. She’d always taken for using power over precision. Robin was the healer, not she. But Robin isn’t here, just her. Closing her eyes, she channels all the hope and love she can muster, and she heals.  
  
Gideon gasps as her magic stitches him together. She continues the spell until she’s sure it is complete, and when she moves her hands, he surges up to kiss her. It’s hard and messy, and her family is watching them, but Juliet doesn’t care because he is _alive_. They break away, both sharing twin grins, and it is then when Juliet grow more cognizant of their audience – and the fact that her family is staring at them with expressions of confusion, anger, and fear.

-/-

“Why didn’t you tell us you had magic?” Regina demands. 

“No one asked,” Juliet replies. Emma watches from the sidelines a Regina interrogates Juliet. Juliet crosses her arms over her chest, clearly doing her best to exude an air of authority. “Besides, it wasn’t relevant.”  
  
She fails, and Regina bristles.

“Wasn’t relevant? We’re on a rescue mission to save my son, and you decide not to mention something that could help?” 

“To be fair, you all were discussing using us as cannon fodder.”  
  
Emma feels Hook shift uncomfortably next to her as Juliet throws a pointed glare his way. Emma, herself, isn’t sure about how she should feel in the moment. It’s definitely suspect that Juliet never admitted to having magic. And it bothers her that this young woman has abilities that could have better assist them in the quest to find Henry that she’s stayed mum about.

And yet, Emma isn’t sure if she could necessarily blame Juliet. 

Emma’s still coming into her own abilities, and she knows that she would never announce the fact that she is magical to strangers. Tactically, as their prisoners, it also makes sense for Juliet to have kept one trick up her sleeve, especially in the case of possible being used as cannon fodder.  
  
“Does lover boy have magic, as well?” Regina asks, as all eyes fall on Romeo.  
  
“Yes,” he answers, but he pushes back the sleeve of his sweater and lifts his arm. Adorning his wrist is a cuff. “But I don’t use it. I don’t want to, so I wear this. It suppresses the magic.” 

“You can’t expect us to believe that,” Regina says flatly.

 “But why would you do that?” It’s her father who asks. His arms are crossed as he studies the couple. 

“Think of it as my family has a history of alcoholism, but with magic,” Romeo explains, his voice surprisingly light considering the subject matter. “Some people choose not to drink, I choose not to not use magic.”

 From behind her, Emma can hear Hook mutter something about that being “a bloody awful reason not to drink.” She can tell Regina is hardly convinced, and both her parents seem wary. Honestly, Emma’s not sure why she’s not feeling as distrustful as she knows she should be. They appeared out of nowhere. They hid the fact that they have magic. And yet, her instinct says to trust them, that they’re somehow important, and that maybe they can help them save Henry. 

“Look,” she says finally, drawing the group’s attention, “the longer we spend arguing, the longer it will take for us to figure out the map, which is my number one priority right now. You two,” she gestures to Romeo and Juliet, “just stay out of the way. Let the rest of us figure out how to save my son.”

Romeo and Juliet relent without argument. They clearly don’t like being the center of her party’s attentions, not that Emma can blame them. “Thank you,” Juliet says as they move away to the corner of the camp. 

“Emma, you can’t be serious.”  
  
Regina looks furious, but Emma stands her ground. “You saw what Pan and the Lost Boys could do. We need all the help we can get to save our son, and that will likely include extra magical assistance.”

“She’s right,” Hook agrees. “The demon’s a bloody monster. The more help we have to save your boy, the better.”

Regina looks clearly unhappy with the situation, but relents to both Emma and Hook. She’s just as eager to save Henry, and Emma knows Regina will do anything to ensure his safety. Even this.

“You better be right,” Regina says.  
  
Emma hopes she is, as well.

-/-

 

Juliet curls around Gideon at the corner of the camp, eyeing her family warily and wanting nothing more than to disappear. Shea wonders how easily it would be to sneak away, and debates the merits of simply staying on the island for another three decades in hopes that someone will come find them. It’s almost preferable to her family’s scrutiny and mistrust.  
  
“It could be worse,” Gideon says, giving her hand a squeeze.  
  
“Oh?”

“Well, for one, I could be dead.”  
  
She wrenches in his arms at the mention of his near-death experience. Her terror had been briefly replaced by her family’s inquisition, but now that she has a moment to breathe, it all comes back to her. Before he can even say anything, Juliet’s hands begin pushing up the hem of his shirt.  
  
“Hey, now, we have an audience,” he warns, casting a glance toward the rest of the party. They, however, appear a bit too preoccupied with Pan’s map to notice them.  
  
Ignoring him, Juliet runs her fingers over his abdomen. His skin his pale and unblemished – there is no sign of the cut, not even a scar or anything worse – and Juliet sighs in relief.   
  
“You’re going to put me out of a job,” he teases, squirming as Juliet continues her examination. He moves to take her hands in his own, and presses a kiss to her knuckles. “I’m fine, J.”

He looks at her imploringly, as if asking her to relax, and Juliet relents. Marginally. “I was looking for signs of Dreamshade poisoning,” she tells him, and Gideon’s expression softens at her explanation. “The Lost Boys are known to lace their weapons with it.”  
  
It’s how her uncle – the one she’s never met – died. It had been a self-inflicted, but unintentional, poisoning, but a poisoning all the same. (Not that Juliet would ever tell this to her father, but it sounded incredibly dumb to intentionally cut oneself with an unfamiliar poison. Her other Uncle Liam – the one she’s known he entire life – wouldn’t make such a rash decision.) To hear her father tell the story, the poison had worked through her uncle’s bloodstream quickly. If Gideon had been poisoned, he’d be showing the effects by now. Then again, if the stories are to be believed, her grandfather’s poisoning had taken much longer to truly affect him.  
  
“My grandpa,” Juliet gasps. She fixes her gaze on her grandfather’s older self, and attempts to determine if he had been injured in their earlier fight.  
  
"What about him?"

“He was supposed to be hit by an arrow, I think."

“I’m sure he was,” Gideon assures her.  “Arrows were flying everywhere. I was worried you'd be hit."  
  
"I'm a survivor, babe." She keeps her tone light despite the tension that's set in her shoulders since arriving on the island. She tells herself that Gideon is right. Her grandfather had to have been lanced by the arrow. And who is to say this would be their only encounter with the Lost Boys? _Everything is fine_ , she thinks, willing herself to believe it.

Juliet turns her attention back to her mother, who doesn’t look fine. She wishes she could remember just how her mother unlocked the secrets to the map, but it’s been too long since she’s read Henry’s book. There was once a time when she could recite it perfectly, but the story has since faded. All she knows is that Neverland is where her parents had their first kiss and where her father bonded with her grandfather. Part of her is excited to watch it all unfold, but another part, a bigger part, just wants to go home.  
  
She longs for her parents to look at her with love, for her father to pull her into a hug, and for her mother to say “I love you.” She misses her grandparents, his grandfather’s teasing and her grandmother’s conspiratorial smiles. She even looks forward to seeing Henry, _her_ Henry, not the ten or eight or the however year-old version of her brother that he is here now.  
  
It can’t be long now, can it?

 

-/-  
  


Emma wants to be left alone.  
  
She hates everything about the island. The heat, the danger, the crying of the Lost Boys, and how it serves as a reminder that she, too, is a Lost Girl. She hates Pan, the fact that he is a maniac and has her son. She hates that he somehow knows the best way to pick at her scabs is his stupid map challenge.  
  
Right now, most of all, she hates how she was being followed through the jungle by a hodge-podge of people. The only person she longs for is Henry. She wishes so terribly to wrap him in her arms, and to shield him from the horror that is Neverland. She wants him safe. She wants him never to feel the need to confesses to feeling like an orphan.

Except she can’t, because he is in Pan’s clutches, and she is unable to even get five seconds alone, because she is surrounded by everyone who wants to rescue him, plus a few stragglers – one of which who can’t get the hint.  
  
It had been trying enough to bare her soul in front of her parents, Hook, and Regina, but speaking in front of Romeo and Juliet had been a special sort of awkward. She doesn’t know them, and though she had defended them to Regina, they still strangers who shouldn’t be privy to her deepest feelings on inadequacy and loneliness. And yet, there they were. Since then, Juliet had been watching her with a sad sort of expression that reminds Emma of Mary Margaret. 

“Hey, Emma,” Juliet greets, suddenly appearing beside her. She has her hair tied into a high ponytail that reminds Emma of a cheerleader in high school. “I just wanted to say I heard what you said to get the map appear, and, well, I never knew you felt that way. ”

“You’ve known me for maybe a day.” Emma steels herself. She really isn’t in the mood for a lecture from a Shakespeare character.

“Yeah, but you’re here surrounded by your entire family, all of whom seem like they’d follow you everywhere. Your parents, Henry’s other mom, your boyfriend –“ 

“Hook’s not my boyfriend,” Emma corrects. She’s increasingly tired of people accusing her of dating Hook.  
  
“Yeah, well, sure. I just want you to know that you have a family who loves you. Like they're doing for Henry, they will for you.”  
  
Not only does the girl look like a cheerleader, but she is acting like one. Finally, something inside Emma snaps. 

“Listen, from the sound of things, you have a loving, misguided maybe, but still a loving family you’re leaving because of a guy. I’m being nice letting you and your boyfriend tag along, but I really don’t want another lecture on the importance of family from you or for anyone.”

A wave of guilt washes over her the moment the words leave her mouth. She knows she was not entirely being fair to the woman, because she really does sound earnest in her poorly considered attempt to remind Emma of her family. But Emma is too tired and emotionally exhausted to apologize, even as she takes in the completely gutted expression on Juliet’s face.

She reminds herself that she has to keep pushing forward. The happiness of Juliet is not at stake, the life of her kid is. That comes before all else.

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time travel is hard and so are relationships. Sorry for the delay. MY CSBB fic is consuming my time. Deadlines, man. But I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Juliet knows what love is.

She loves her parents. She loves her grandparents. And while she might not especially like her brother, she loves him, as well. She has a gaggle of friends back home in New York, ones she can’t tell about her life in Storybrooke, but ones she loves all the same.

She loves Gideon.

“Love is the most powerful force in any realm.” That’s what she was told growing up. Juliet has seen its power. She’s the product of one such great love.

Maybe that’s why she understands how much it can hurt.

She trails behind a version of her mother who doesn’t know or recognize her, who would rather have her gone. Juliet has tried attempting to pretend it doesn’t hurt, and now more than ever she wants a hug from the woman who barely wants to give her the time of day.

“She doesn’t know you from Adam,” Gideon attempts to assure her. But he fails, his words rankling her. His reasoning is logical, sure, but it doesn’t mean it hurts any less. “It’s going to be okay.”

“Look, you have no idea how I’m feeling right now.” She’s being unfair. Juliet recognizes this. It doesn’t stop her from lashing out, however. She’s the one whose mother wishes she were gone, whose loved ones look at her with mild interest at best, with fear at worst.

“All I am saying is that she doesn’t hate you. She doesn’t know you, J.”

“It would actually make me feel a hundred percent better if you would just stop.” He reaches out for her hand, but she pulls away. Gideon looks both hurt and annoyed, but since she’s feeling much of the same, she doesn’t feel like soothing him when she was the one to be upset first.

“I’m trying to be supportive,” he grinds out. They’ve long since stopped following the group. “Which is more than you can say me.”

“What is that supposed mean?” she asks, blindsided.

“That life isn’t ‘The Juliet Show’.”

 She is about to argue further, but then her father calls out to them. Similar to her mother, his voice holds none of his usual warmth. “If you keep dallying behind, you’re liable to get yourselves lost, or worse, caught by the Lost Boys. Keep up.”

Juliet frowns and pushes herself ahead.

God, she hates Neverland.

-/-

Emma watches the fire crackle in the front of her, desperately trying to ignore the heat of Hook by her side and the general tension in the camp. She had thought that finding Tinkerbelle would help, but it appears that her plan was for naught, the fairy without both powers and pixie dust.

So now they all sit around the fire, trying to come up with a plan. Well, rather, Emma is. Her parents are drifting in and out of sleep, and Tinkerbelle appears to be in a whisper argument with Regina over something. And Hook seems rather preoccupied with a coconut.

“We shouldn’t be sitting around. We should be doing something,” she hisses to him. Hook shrugs, and hands her a punctured coconut. 

“Our party is exhausted, both physically and emotionally. Were we to stage an attack on Pan’s camp, we’d be completely useless, and likely find ourselves killed,” Hook replies matter-of-factly.

“I just can’t sit here and do nothing while Henry is out there.”

“Avoiding running yourself ragged is doing something to save Henry, love,” Hook tells her softly. “But if you feel so compelled to not simply sit around and converse with _me_ , maybe you should with _her_.”

Juliet is sitting directly opposite from them on the other side of the fire. In direct contrast to her earlier cheerfulness, she radiates an air of sadness. Her chin rests on her knees and her arms are wrapped around her calves. In the flickering of the fire’s light, it almost looks as if Emma is staring at a younger version of herself.

“She’s convinced you hate her,” Hook supplies and he picks up another coconut. He deftly punctures it with his hook. “I overheard her and her paramour discussing your feelings. She’s quite upset by it.”

“Oh,” Emma sighs, feeling a surge of guilt. “I don’t. I just yelled at her maybe once. I don’t know her well enough to even hate her.”

“Well, she appears convinced of your distaste,” Hook replies. He hands her the coconut and pointedly looks at the girl. “Like you, she has powerful magic. It might be in Henry’s best interest to ensure she remains on our side and happy.”

“She doesn’t look like someone who would work for Pan.”

“Perhaps not,” Hook says darkly, “but it never hurts to play these things safe.”

Emma looks down at the coconuts in her hands, and sighs. She’s never been one for these types of conversations, but Hook is right, as much as she doesn’t want to admit it. She glares the pirate as she pushes herself up. “If this doesn’t go well, I’m blaming you.”

He shrugs. “Whatever you say, sweetheart.” 

“Not your sweetheart.” She rolls her eyes, ever annoyed at his light flirtation, and makes her way toward Juliet. Juliet is without Romeo, a rare sight. Normally, the couple is joined at the hip, but tonight he is asleep while his girlfriend sits awake. When Emma reaches her, the young woman doesn’t acknowledge her. 

“Hello,” Emma says finally. Feeling somewhat stupid, and silently cursing Hook, she offers Juliet a coconut. “You can have this. I promise it’s not poisoned.” 

Juliet looks at her strangely, but takes the gift. She takes a drink from it, and frowns. “God, this tastes awful.”

“Yeah, well, it’s all we’ve got,” Emma snaps, her annoyance at Juliet returning. Not for the first time, Emma wonders about this woman’s life, and just what exactly she and her boyfriend had been running from. It’s obvious Juliet comes from some sort of privilege. It’s evident in the way she talks and carries herself, like she’s never had to worry about anything. It’s not something to which Emma can easily relate, but Hook’s reminder rings in her ears. “I, uh, wanted to thank you for offering to help out with Henry.” 

“Well, it’s either help you and maybe get off this island or stay here and for sure die. It wasn’t a difficult decision,” Juliet replies. She stays looking at the fire, and Emma glances back to Hook. He nods encouragingly, and Emma wants to punch that stupid smile off of his face.

“But, still, we’re strangers.”

Juliet looks up at her then, her expression startlingly sad. “Yeah, strangers. My mom used to tell me to stay away from strangers.”

“Sounds like a smart mom,” Emma agrees, and Juliet laughs. It doesn’t meet her eyes. “I’ve told Henry the same thing, but life-or-death situations mean rules can be broken.”

“I guess that’s right,” Juliet sighs. She takes a drink from the coconut, and grimaces again.

“Have you never had a coconut before?” Emma asks suddenly, trying to do the bonding thing Hook had encouraged her to do. She’s not sure what realm Juliet is from – how strange is it that she’s even thinking about people being from different realms? – but it could be that has never seen or tasted a coconut. Emma certainly had chimera before.

“Um. I’ve had a coconut,” Juliet answers with a roll of her eyes. “I’m just not a fan of coconut water, that’s all.”

“Oh.”

“So why are you talking to me?” Juliet asks suddenly, catching Emma off-guard. She quirks an eyebrow, reminding Emma so much of Hook that it’s absurd. “Earlier today, you basically told me to get lost, and now you want to be buddy-buddy over coconuts.”

“Maybe I realized I made a mistake,” Emma replies. It’s not the entire truth. Hook had basically ushered her over here, coconut in tow, but it’s not like Juliet has a super secret lie detector.

“Look, stranger danger or not, we’re not going to bail on your son because you don’t like me. So don’t worry.”

 It would be easy to walk away. So, so easy. Juliet wants to her go, and Emma certainly wants to step away. But she hears Hook’s voice in her ear encouraging her to stay and make things right, and Henry is on the line so – 

“Listen, I know I wasn’t being fair to you earlier, and that you were just trying to help, but you have to understand a lot is going on right now,” Emma explains, knowing she is rambling somewhat. Juliet watches her, clearly listening, but says nothing. “But, that was wrong of me. As you said, we don’t know one another. We’re strangers. So tell me something, about you, your home, or whatever.”

“Really?”

“Um. Yeah.” Emma’s never been good with the whole bonding thing. Honestly, she still thinks her friendship with Mary Margaret had to have been a fluke, or destiny fucking with things so they had like one another due to the mother-daughter thing. Emma makes a move to sit down next to Juliet, feeling silly. But it’s what Mary Margaret would do. God, this better be worth it.

“Okay,” Juliet eyes her dubiously. “I love my job, but I am tempted to leave it because it pays very little. I’m worried about my cat since we’re stuck here and he’s back home. And my boyfriend and I are sort of in a fight, which is sort of my fault. Also, I really, really hate camping.”

It’s a lot to unpack, but judging by the way Juliet ticks off the various points, some are things she’s been holding in for quite awhile. Emma knows she should say something, but she’s unsure about what to comment on. So, she does what Mary Margaret would do. “What are you and Romeo fighting about?”

“Who?”

“Your boyfriend,” Emma replies. Juliet’s confusion takes her off-guard, but she attributes it to her lack of rest.

“Oh, yeah, him.” Again, something feels off about the way Juliet is talking, but Emma can’t exactly point out why. “Really, I don’t even know, and I don’t want to talk about it.”

“I could get Hook’s rum if you’d like a shot,” Emma suggests, gesturing to her pirate friend (maybe?) who is making work on his own coconut.

Juliet shakes her head. “As much as I want to take you up on that offer – trust me, I do – it’s best if I don’t. Clear head, full heart, can’t lose or whatever.”

There’s something familiar, yet completely off by what Juliet is saying, but Emma can’t pinpoint why. Maybe she’s also too tired. Juliet must notice it too, because she then says, “You should sleep. Gotta be well-rested fight Pan or whatever, right?” 

“Right,” Emma says. “You get some sleep too, okay?”

“Yes, Mom,” Juliet says. She means to be sarcastic, but it comes out fonder than Emma expects. Then again, nothing she’s expected these days turns out to be correct.

Hook gives her an encouraging smile when she returns. Emma does her best to ignore the swoop in her belly. That’s also something she can’t deal with right now.

  
Despite her exhaustion, Emma doesn’t sleep easy that night. The cries of the lost boys haunt her. Judging by the tossing and turning on the other side of the camp, Emma supposes she’s not the only one. Rolling over, she surreptitiously tries to see who might be awake. In the dark of the night, she can see the shadow of Romeo sitting up, likely giving up on sleep. 

She rolls away, unwilling to engage or reach out. She doubts he would want her to anyway. She might not completely understand Juliet, be she knows something about being lost. It’s an easier cross to bear alone. It’s better that way. 

-/-

The morning is a bustle of arguments about escape plans. Juliet and Gideon sit on the sidelines of the debate between her family debate, listening but not speaking. Not even to one another.

They've fought before. No one is in a relationship for three years without there being a few arguments. Right now, they're in the "giving space" part of their fight cycle. Normally it works, there is a cool down period, one of them makes the first apology, the other follows, and then make up sex occurs.

As they are in Neverland, Juliet doubts that any make up sex will happen once they do apologize. Her family is around, and she really doesn't ever want a repeat of the "Library Incident" from last Christmas. It's crazy how actually being caught can kill one's exhibitionist tendencies. 

She wonders what Gideon is thinking right now. She feels marginally guilty about turning the whole adventure into "The Juliet Show" as he so eloquently put it. It's not her fault that they landed in Neverland, and are stuck with her family. It's not her fault this this totally sucks. If it were his family here, she would understand.

She sighs audibly, but he doesn't register her. Juliet knows this fight is only a minor blip. You don't buy a ring for someone with whom you have major issues. Right?

That's what she had wanted to talk to her mother about last night, and pretty much every night since she stumbled upon it in his suitcase. But then there was the whole affair with the Lost Boy and Cassidy, and the time really hadn't felt right. And now, well, Juliet couldn't imagine confessing to her mother that her boyfriend has a ring, and only being met with a blank stare. 

Day-to-day interactions are hard enough. She knows that monumental conversations would kill her.

She knows not to tell Gideon that she's discovered his secret. She's heard enough to know what kind of horror story that could be, but to be able to share it would be nice.

A lot of things these days would be nice. Her bed, good food, Pinot curled up on her chest, and her mom looking at her with love. The latter would be best of all. 

"Alright, you two, we're leaving. Let's go," her mother's past self says. 

Juliet doesn't know where they're going. She had barely been listening to the debate about exit strategy. Not that it matters what she does and does not know. They sail away from the island using Pan's shadow. That's what Henry's book says, not that Juliet can tell any of them that. 

Instead of inquiring, Juliet chooses to follow. She knows nothing about the geography of the island -- there's a cave that looks like a skull, her uncle died somewhere, and mermaids have a lagoon -- but she wouldn't be able to place them on the map. It's better this way, anyway. The fewer questions she asks, the less likely it will be to draw attention. 

Gideon follows behind her. He's still quiet, and it's almost as if he's dragging behind. Something feels off, but Juliet attributes it to their fight. She considers asking him what's up, but she doesn't want to be the first one who breaks. He would tell her if something what truly wrong, anyway. 

After what feels like forever, they end up at a cave. They fan out through area. It's obvious someone has lived here before. Drawing are on the walls, and her parents are moving a what looks to be a cot.

"Where are we?" Juliet asks, suddenly feeling stupid for not listening. 

"Neal's cave." Her grandfather says. He looks at her like she's stupid, like should know.

"Oh," she replies. Neal. The guy her uncle is named after. Henry's dad. Except she shouldn't know who he is, so she asks, "Who's Neal?" to play along.

"Henry's dad," her grandmother answers. She speaks in a soft, hushed tone, her eyes darting to Emma when she speaks. "He died not too long ago."

To Juliet, Henry's father died a very long time ago. She's only seen him in pictures. She honestly knows very little about him, not that she's cared to ask.

What she does know is that he's not dead at this very moment. He's here trying to rescue Henry form his evil grandfather. It's always sort of amused her that Henry's grandfather was Peter Pan. Same with Gideon.

"Did you ever think J.M. Barrie would have guessed that Peter Pan's grandson and Captain Hook's daughter would get together," she had once joked.

And suddenly it hits her.

Peter Pan is Gideon's grandfather. Gideon's grandfather is on the island. So is brother. So is his father. 

She spins around, frantically looking for her boyfriend. He is nowhere to be found. 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you, unfolded73 for the edits!

Emma forgets Neal is dead.  

There's a dark humor to be found in that, how she had once wished for nothing more than for him to die, and now that he is, she forgets. For so long while he was alive, he haunted her, a ghost or shadow that would remind her how foolish it is to trust others with her heart. It only ends up broken. She carried a torch for him for a decade, but now that he's gone, it's like a weight has been lifted.

She feels guilty at that. He's dead. Gone. People don't come back from death. It's permanent. She should feel upset, or more upset than she does. Her mother acts suitably distraught, like she is grieving more than Emma, the one who loved him, the one he left behind. Even Hook sounds more broken over Neal being gone than she. But at least he has – had – a connection to him.

_ "He gets it from his mother." _

Sometimes she forgets his history, how all-encompassing it is. She might joke about his age, but it's never really sunk in how long he lived and how much he loved. Neal's death hurts him. She wonders if Hook misses him. They didn't seem close as adults, but Emma is familiar enough with complicated feelings about Neal to know the situation is just that – complicated. She could ask Hook about it, but that would mean opening up to him, and that is the last thing Emma wants.

She can't entirely figure out Hook. He's a pirate. He wants – she refuses to believe there's a past-tense there – to kill Gold. He's admitted to killing many men over the centuries he's been alive. But...he turned the ship around. He's helping her find her son, and he supports her. And he's the type of guy who could love a woman so much that he would carry a torch for centuries.

She wonders what it’s like to love someone that much. She certainly would do the same for Henry, but Henry is her son. What is it like to feel that way for a lover? Her parents overcame curses for their love, and Hook overcame centuries. What did she and Neal ever overcome?

Nothing. Especially now that he's dead. 

Being in his Neverland home reminds her how little she even knew about him. He never overtly lied, telling her he was a runaway, that his relationship with his father was tenuous, that he didn't like to talk about his past. He never mentioned his mother. Not once. Now Emma understands his evasion. It's not like she would have believed him then.

_ "Hey, so, my dad is Rumplestiltskin and I lived in Neverland for awhile. Oh, I'm also 600 years old." _

Surely she would have thought he was crazy, and run in the opposite direction. Sometimes she thinks she should have anyway, but then she wouldn't have Henry. And, well, Henry is worth the heartache. He's the bright light in the darkness that her mother always goes on about. Emma sighs and continues to search through Neal’s things, investigating the life of a man now dead. She always thought she never really knew Neal, but that had been in relation to him leaving her. This is another layer, one that causes her to question how much she knows about everyone in her life.

Her roommate who she thought was a school teacher is actually Snow White, her mother. The guy who miraculously woke from a coma is Prince Charming. She's on a search party with both, accompanied by Captain Hook and the Evil Queen. No amount of bingeing Disney could prepare her for this, for them. What does she even know about them? What dark secrets are they hiding, if any?

Then again, what do they know of her? She hasn’t told her parents about Neal, and what went down between him and her. They don’t know about all the heartache of the past twenty-nine years, of friends lost and hopes crushed. Would Mary Margaret act so sad if she knew the truth? Knowing her mother, probably.  

And then there's Romeo and Juliet, whom she knows nothing about except for what they choose to share. Can she believe them? Her instincts say yes, but there's something off about them. She knows they've been keeping their own cards close to their chests – hiding Juliet's magical abilities is evidence enough – but is there anything else they're hiding? Deep down, she knows there is. Emma just hopes that it won't be something that would damn them all. 

Emma glances back to her group. Her mother. Her father. Hook. And --

"Wait. Where are Romeo and Juliet?"

Her parents and Hook look around.

They're gone.

 

-/-

 

"Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?"

Juliet's intentionally mangling the meaning of the sentence. In the play, the question is asking why he's Romeo, not where the guy is. But that sort of mistake is the kind of thing that would get Gideon to come out of hiding wherever he is and correct her. Besides, it's not as if she can actually shout his name – the real one and not the cover – without drawing attention. 

She doesn't even know if she is walking in the right direction. She has no idea where he even went. So much for abiding by the "Stuck in a Different Realm" Buddy Rule. Then again, she broke the "Be a Good Girlfriend" life rule, so she supposes they're even. 

Sometimes she forgets that Gideon has a brother. Does that make her a terrible person? Neal Cassidy has always been an abstract to her, someone who once existed in her family's lives, but now very much does not. He was the reason her mother gave her extensive lectures on safe sex. He was the reason why Gideon's father was so hell-bent on finding the Land Without Magic. He was even the reason for why Henry believed she and Gideon shouldn't date.

  _"It's weird."_

 _"Well, he's not related to me. It's not my fault your family tree is a mess."_  

But aside from those moments, as far as Juliet is concerned, Neal Cassidy is a non-entity. Her "Neal" is her uncle, who is more of a brother to her than anything. But Neal Cassidy is Gideon's actual brother, a fact that she forgets.

Most of the time, Juliet considers Gideon an only child. He's even admitted that he feels the same to her. His brother died before he was born. Everything he knows about him is learned second-hand. He doesn't talk about him. But that doesn't mean that he doesn't care.

She combs her hands through her hair, wanting to scream. She's been too caught up in her own family drama to pay attention to Gideon's needs, firmly planting her in the "Worst Almost-Fiancé" category. At the end of the day, assuming they don't die or ruin the timeline, she can go back to her family. This can be a joke for them all, just like Prince Charles and Princess Leia. But when Gideon goes back, Neal will still be dead. This is it for him. 

God, she's a self-centered idiot. 

"Come on, handsome hero, where are you?"

She hears no answer. 

Juliet reminds herself that she needs to keep cool, despite the wild pounding of her heart in her chest. Where is he? She's afraid. She knows how dangerous this island can be. She's heard enough horror stories from her father in that regard.

If something happens to him…

She shakes her head. No. She will not allow herself to jump to worst-case scenarios. He'll be fine. He's survived worse than a cursed island and an insensitive girlfriend. Hell, he's already survived one psychotic grandparent. He can survive another. 

Besides, he can’t die until she apologizes. Because it is definitely her turn to apologize. Sure, he could have told her what was going on in his head, but she might not have listened, too caught up in her own problems. She has to find him, say she’s sorry, and promise to be by his side when they find his brother. Juliet isn’t entirely sure of the timeline, but eventually her family will be making their way to Echo Cave. She and Gideon will need to find excuses for why they  don’t want to go in – maybe they can stay with Regina? – but they will find Neal, and Gideon can meet him for first time. And Juliet will be there holding his hand the entire time, just as supportive as he’s been to her.

She just needs to find him first.

Juliet stops herself from wandering any further. She’s already strayed far enough from what had been Neal’s camp. She’s not even sure she’s heading in the correct direction. That’s the most likely explanation for why she hasn’t found him yet. Standing still, she takes a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself.

She stands quietly for a moment, taking one, two, three deep breaths. It is in the silence when she hears the unmistakable sound of footsteps behind her. She turns around, hopeful to see Gideon and with an apology already on her lips.

Juliet doesn’t have the chance to scream before her world turns black. 


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay on this chapter. I've been up to my ears in completing my CSBB. Good news: it is completely written, and only in the editing stage now. So keep your eyes open for that. It will begin posting mid-August! But because that is over, I have more time to devote to this story.
> 
> Writing Finding Neverland takes longer to write than many of my other stories, mostly because I am cross-referencing with Season 3...a lot. So I can only write certain scenes when I have access to that information. But no worries. I very much love this story, and intend to finish it.

Nearly twenty-eight years ago, Gideon Gold thrust a sword through Emma Swan, nearly killing her if not for the power of True Love. It's an event that's haunted Gideon for much of his life, ever since he discovered this truth when he was seven-years-old and the bully at school thought it would be "fun" to tease him with. He didn't believe him at first, but when he went crying home to Mother and Father they delicately talked him through a truncated version of the events, stressing that it was magic, he hadn't been in control, "it was like a curse." When he was older, he learned the full truth, and though it was true he hadn't been in control, the realization of what he could have been scared him. 

It also scared other people – still does, if Gideon is honest. Through much of his life, people have looked at him with suspicion. Son of the Dark One, Grandson of Peter Pan and the Black Fairy. The apple doesn't fall too far from the tree, does it? 

It's why he doesn't use magic. He fears that maybe everyone is right, and if he gives into it, he would easily be seduced by its power. It's what's happened to everyone else in his family, after all. Why couldn't it also happen to him?

He wants desperately to be good, to do good. It's why he became a doctor, because it allows him to help people, to save them even without magic and oppressive destinies. His whole life he's felt like the deck was stacked against him, that's he's had to fight that much harder to garner respect and to convince everyone else that he won't be like the more devious sides of his family. 

He thinks that's why he's handled being in Neverland easier than Juliet. For all the darkness the town sees in him, with her all they see is light. Her lineage demands trust in a way his never will. He wonders how that must feel. Of course, it's harder when it's your family. Not that it's really them, the versions they know. But Juliet has always been exceptionally close with her parents, so Gideon understands that this dynamic is difficult for her. 

And it's not as if he's also not dreading interacting with his family's past selves, because he is. It's why he's wandering around the jungle instead of marching into his dead brother's former cave. Gideon knows how his family's story is going to play out: his grandfather will die. His father will die. His brother will live, only to be ripped away his family, never to see Henry again. And unless they discover a way to get home, Gideon will be around to witness it all. 

It's not something he realized when they first landed on the island. Then, he had only been concerned with maintaining a cover and thrilled to be on an exhilarating adventure with the woman he loves. It wasn't until after his own near-death encounter with Pan that things really began to sink in. And once the realization hit, he couldn't shake it. 

Which is why he's clearing his head and not learning more about his dead brother, because at the end of the day, Neal, Bae, whatever the fuck people call him is dead and going to stay dead, and doesn't want hear everyone opine about it.

Not that he can necessarily explain that to them. He has to maintain a cover after all, and he knows that his disappearance will already put a dent in it. But he believes staying outside is better than going in, and to at least make himself seem useful, he gathers vine to help fashion ropes or whatever. That way he can at least be of help. 

If anything, Juliet will be prying him about it later. If she cares enough to notice, that is.

Juliet has always been somewhat self-centered. He supposes it's something that comes when the world caters to you. Juliet, the princess. Juliet, the daughter of the Savior. Smart, pretty, powerful Juliet. No wonder she things so highly of herself. 

At times, he revels in it, because it forces him to forget his own life when he wants to. He hates being the center of attention. She embraces it. But at moments like this, he wishes for her to be his anchor, not the other way around.

He supposes he's being a little passive aggressive. He could have told her earlier how he was feeling, but he's also not entirely sure she would have registered what he was saying. Especially since she seemingly forgot he also had family on the island.

He sighs, and continues to gather vine.

He knows they'll have to talk it out at some point. They'll put the entire timeline at risk if they carry on with their silent treatment. Of course, finding time to actually work out their problems is easier said than done. He's pretty sure that Emma is the only one that remotely trusts them, and a disappearance would be suspect.

Gideon finds himself longing for home in New York City, the apartment he both loves and hates, the one that his father bought him as a gift. "Gideon Gold, made of gold," is what some of his classmates once teased, jealousy in their eyes. He's never had to want financially for everything, and eats at him because it is unearned in every sense of the word. His father has money because he manipulated a curse to do so. Gideon accepts it, because it is easier that way, because it allows him study and work without worry, because it lets Juliet follow her own dreams.

He wonders if it makes him a villain, accepting that financial boon for selfish reasons. Do heroes thrive on empires built the suffering of others? Because Regina's curse caused suffering. The Dark One curse caused suffering. And Gideon is the one who benefits.

"If it wasn't for either curses, I wouldn't exist," Juliet had told him after he revealed his internal turmoil with her. "Yeah, a lot of messed up shit happened too, but good things too."

And he tries to remind himself of that, because he doesn't want to live in a world without Juliet Jones in it. 

It's that thought that drives him back to his dead brother's cave, back to Juliet. Once they get through this mess, they can go home, back to New York and their apartment, back to the cat that steals his pillows in the morning, and back to the world where he doesn't have to worry about watching the people he cares about die. They can be back in their own little world away from magic, away from prying family members, away from it all. 

But when he gets back to the cave, ready to present his vines that could be used as rope, his explanation dies on his lips when he sees Juliet's family march out of the cave, his girlfriend not with them.

"Where's Juliet?" he asks, trying not to let the panic bubbling in his gut reach his voice. Maybe she's still inside brooding. 

"We thought she was with you," her grandfather says. "She went looking for you. Speaking of, where did you go?"

"She went out alone?" It shouldn't be a problem. Really. Juliet is capable. Juliet is strong. She can handle most everything life can throw her way. But this is an unfamiliar jungle teeming with bloodthirsty Lost Boys. 

"Seems like it, mate," replies Juliet's father, and there's a hard edge to his voice, one that Gideon's heard him use around villains.

They don't trust him. He wasn't acting trustworthy, he suppose, but he can't dwell on that. Not when Juliet is missing. 

He half expects her to march back out of the jungle, and tease him for worrying. But that's not going to happen. He's not sure how he knows, but deep down there is a feeling in his gut that tells him that something is very much wrong. 

Their plan is unraveling.

His world is unraveling.

Gideon is afraid.

-/-

Juliet is missing and Romeo is panicked. There is something Shakespeare in the entire situation. Emma would otherwise laugh if the situation didn't seem so dire or suspicious. 

She knows what this looks like. Romeo had disappeared without word, and though he has vines around his shoulders, it doesn't seem like a good enough reason to stay behind, especially without telling his girlfriend. Already untrustworthy, this has done nothing to help his cause, and Emma can tell by the way Hook taps his fingers on the hilt of the sword he is readying for a fight.

But there's something in the way Romeo is reacting now that gives Emma pause. He may be a good actor -- it's not the first time someone has tried to mislead her with a sob story -- but Romeo is genuinely worried. He hadn't expected to return to find his girlfriend missing.

But is she even missing? Juliet went looking for Romeo. For all they know, she could just be lost. Which, admittedly, isn't the best scenario either. Not with the Lost Boys running around. But Juliet should know that, which raises the question: Why did she go in the first place?

Why did Romeo go?

"We need to go find her," Romeo stresses to them, his voice panicked. 

He's not acting. He's jittery, and not in the "I'm lying" kind of way, but in the way that says "I'm scared." Emma knows the feeling well. 

"What we need to do is find my son," Regina says from behind her. Emma knows the tone that Regina is using, the one that leaves no room for argument. She won't go help Romeo find his Juliet.

And, honestly, neither can Emma.

"Regina is right. We can't delay searching for Henry any more than we need to," Emma tells Romeo. Her mouth tastes like ash. She's not sure why she feels so much remorse at being unwilling to save Juliet, especially when the life of her child at is at stake, but she does. 

"But she's..." Romeo's voice trails off, as if he remembered something he couldn't say. "Fine. Go after Henry, but I am going to find Juliet."

Emma doesn't argue with him. She knows it will be of no use, and if he's plotting again then, he wouldn't be so insistent on going away, right? She feels to instinct to reach out to him, but holds back. She needs to find her son.

Emma watches as Romeo turns away from them, his expression hurt, when to both of their surprise Hook steps forward.

"Wait," he entreats Romeo, waving his hook in the other man's direction. Romeo doesn't startle at the movement. "You're unfamiliar with the jungle. Let me come with you."

"You can't!" The words slip out before Emma can stop them. Hook looks back at her, his eyebrow raised in question. In explanation, she offers, It's dangerous, and besides, we need your help here."

"Why, Swan, I didn't know you cared," he replies, swaying into her space. Before she can answer that she doesn't, not in that way at least, he tells her, "You don't need me to find your boy. I have the utmost faith your family's ability to find one another."

"But—" She's not sure why she's arguing, except that she wants him with the group. He knows the island better than anyone. 

 

"Emma, I'm going with Romeo," Hook tells her. "For one, he needs our help. Secondly, should he and his lass be plotting anything, it's best that I'm there to put an end to it."

He says his second point in a low voice, a clear effort not to let Romeo onto their plan. 

"Fine," Emma resents. There's no arguing with him anyway, the stubborn man. "But we need a plan for you to come back. Meet up back at camp in a four hours."

"As you wish, milday,” he says as he tilts in a fake bow. It something that would normally make her roll her eyes. He tries so hard to pretend to be the gentleman pirate. Unfortunately for him, few see him as such.

“If he’s going, I’m going,” David cuts in, walking over to stand beside Hook.

_“David!”_

“You can’t be serious,” Emma says, surprised by her father’s sudden eagerness. Her mother looks upset too, worried for his safety.

“Hook’s right,” David says with a significant look. Emma knows he heard what Hook said about Romeo. “Strength in numbers, right?”

Emma doesn’t argue about strength in numbers for finding Henry. If Hook’s worse fears are correct…no, she won’t think about that.

“Four hours,” she stresses. Hopefully, they’ll find Juliet unscathed by then and she will have further discovered a way to save Henry.

Just four more hours.

-/-

These are the things to know about Juliet Jones: She does not believe in choosing favorite colors, but when asked by strangers and acquaintances, she will say red. She has strong opinions about Russian literature, and even stronger ones about French artists. She is afraid of both clowns and cows. She enjoys watching old television shows, so much so that she once had a marathon of every doctor show she could find just to needle him. She is not a morning person, but she loves morning sex. She is messy and leaves towels on the floor, half-drunk cups of tea on the table, and never puts away her boxes of cereal that she eats without milk. She sings showtunes in the show. She is exceptionally close with her family.

The last point is most important. 

Under normal circumstances, if she were to disappear nearly three decades in the future, it would not be strange to be hiking throughout a jungle with her father and grandfather in search of her.  

 _"I will find you."_ – that’s her family's motto. They will find her, Gideon, her father, and her grandfather. Only the latter two people with Gideon on his hunt don't even know their relationship to the missing women, that their blood runs through her veins, and if it is spilled, it will be theirs as well. They don't know, and because of that, they're half-hearted in their search. If they remember this, will they regret it? Will it haunt them that they didn't do their best to protect a person they love because they didn't know her? 

"Juliet!" Gideon calls, because his heart is pounding in his chest. He has nothing of hers that is on his person, no trinket he could use to cast a tracking spell to find her. He would break his vows for her, would do so in a heartbeat if it meant keeping her safe.

He understands his father in that moment, how intoxicating magic can be. It tempts him. Gideon feels it calling to him. But if he cannot find her, what could would it do?

His father never gave up his dagger for his mother. Maybe this is why.

"Juliet!"

"Keep your voice down," grunts her father. "Do you want to draw all the Lost Boys to us?"

"What if I do? What if they have her?" Gideon is combative, itching for a fight. He is angry. He is scared. The last time he was with her, he wasn't speaking to her. 

 _I love you. I love you. I love you._ That's what he should have said.

"If they have her, they certainly wouldn't parade her around in front of you," her father argues.

Gideon wonders what he'd say if he knew Juliet was his daughter. Back home, in the future, he is protective, too protective according to Juliet. The Killian Jones that Gideon knows would be out for blood. Nothing would stand in his way. Gideon finds himself longing for that man. 

All in all, the Killian Jones that Gideon knows, the one that is three decades older with more than enough gray in his hair actually does like him. Or so Juliet says. Gideon isn't quite sure. When he and Juliet had made their relationship public to the family at large in Storybrooke after months of secretly dating, Juliet's father had taken him aside and said the normal fatherly things. 

 _"She's half my heart, you know,"_ he had said. 

And when Gideon had months ago arrived at the doorstep of Juliet's childhood home, a speech planned and ring in hand, her parents had given their full blessing, not that he entirely needed it. But since she's exceptionally close to her family, he asked anyway. Later, when Juliet's mother was taking care of other matters, her father had taken him aside and gave him a different speech, reminders to honor and respect and love her fully.

 _"She may be half of your heart, but she's all of mine,"_ Gideon had said.

 _"Good,"_ was Killian Jones' reply, and he clapped him on the back in approval.

The Killian Jones with Gideon is not going to clap him on the back. The Killian Jones with Gideon does not know half his heart is missing, and they're on a rescue mission to save her.

"Listen, Romeo, I know how terrifying it is to be separated from the woman you love, but we have to keep our heads," says Prince Charming.

He would know. Curses, different realms, more curses have separated him and his wife. Gideon and Juliet have never been separated like this before. When they are kids, yes, but that was before they were "them", before their first kiss outside of a bookstore in the rain, before he purchased the ring that's thirty years in the future nestled between his socks and underwear in his suitcase.

But because there is a first time for everything, Gideon is far too on edge to be calm and rational. Currently, his behavior is anathema to his usual state – _"Cool as a cucumber,"_ Juliet says – but he doesn't wish to dwell on it.

"Would you be keeping your head if this was your wife?" Gideon asks. He turns to Juliet's father. "What about if this was Emma?"

"Emma and I aren't..." Hook says, his voice trailing off because he knows it is a lie. Gideon knows it is a lie. This is where her fell in love, per Juliet, per Henry's book, per Gideon's own witnessing of the past few days.

But he's perceptive and Charming is not, because Charming cuts in, "They're nothing and it's going to stay that way."

Wrong. They'll be something. They will be something here, and they'll be something in the future, and in that future they will have a daughter who they'll name Juliet. She will grow, she will idolize her parents' love, and one day she will fall in love herself.

And then she'll disappear into a jungle.

But Gideon cannot say that, and it drives him insane. He wonders if they knew the truth if they would fight harder to find her, not be complacent with just wandering around the jungle for her. This is someone they will love. 

But he can't tell them that, because it would throw the timeline into a tailspin, even more so than he's already done. 

 

He tries to remember what's supposed to happen. The story ends with a curse, with his father and grandfather's death, with goodbye. But before then? He's never been as religious about reading the stories as Juliet had been. But he's tried to listen to what she said.

This is where her father fell in love. He confessed his willingness to move on in Echo Cave in order to save Gideon's brother. He realized it after kissing Emma, a reward of sorts for saving her father who had been poisoned with Dreamshade – her father, who is with Gideon and Killian Jones now.

Is he poisoned? 

"What if they poison her with Dreamshade?" Gideon asks. He's afraid they might, but he's more afraid of something worse.

Juliet's father looks grim, as possibility he is unwilling to admit. Juliet's grandfather looks confused.

"What's Dreamshade?"

Gideon feels sick. Juliet is missing, and they're barreling toward a future where she might now exist.

-/-

Emma is thankful her father isn’t here. She doubts he would be on board with her and Regina’s plan to get in contact with Henry. She could barely hold her mother back while Regina ripped out the boy’s heart – God, he had only been a child – and Emma knows she isn’t strong enough to stop David, as well.

Her mind keeps drifting back to her father and to Hook. She hopes they are wrong about Romeo, that Juliet is safe, and that they will all come back together as a team stronger and more effective at stopping Pan and rescuing Henry.

But there’s a non-small part of her that fears that they just might be playing into Pan’s hands. Emma’s seen enough horror movies to know that splitting up rarely goes well for the heroes. But they couldn’t allow Romeo to wander around Neverland alone (again), and Hook had been adamant about going.

She tries not to dwell on why she’s so worried about Hook. He’s a survivor. He’s kept himself alive on this island and God knows where else for centuries. He’s been hit by a car and lived. He’ll be fine. And God help Romeo if Hook isn’t.

Not that Romeo and Juliet’s story is going to be a happy one.

“It’s strange isn’t it?” her mother asks as they wait for the Lost Boy to return to Pan’s camp to deliver the message. “Juliet disappears without warning Romeo, just in the play.”

Her mother has been trying to distract herself from just what they’ve done, choosing to focus on the other matters at hand, but her eyes keep flicking to the heart Regina is holding.

“Are you saying if she dies, he’s going to poison himself and she’ll get all stab happy?” Emma asks, not wishing to consider the end of the story. If Romeo and Juliet aren’t villains, they’re just two people caught up in a very unfortunate situation.

“I don’t want it to,” her mother quickly corrects, looking somewhat horrified at the implication.

“Just because Shakespeare ended the story that way, doesn’t mean their will. I mean, look at Pan. Look at _you_.”

“I don’t understand why you both are so worried about them. They could be trying to kill us for all we know,” Regina interjects. She holds the heart in her hand, watching for what, Emma does not know. “They could be helping Pan keep Henry.”

Emma doesn’t feel like arguing about this again. Besides, there is no point in doing so. Regina’s set in her beliefs regarding Romeo and Juliet. There’s nothing Emma can say that could change it, and regardless of their disagreement on the issue, Emma understands. Regina is worried about Henry, and will not let anything stand in her way.

Something Emma should also be focusing on.

God, she hopes this plan works.

And it does. _It does._ Because no sooner was she hoping that Regina is whispering further orders into the Lost Boy’s heart, speaking through him to Henry their son. And then they are huddled around a tiny mirror, and she can seem him.

Henry is alive, but tired, but she can see him. He’s not safe, not by a longshot, not while he is on the island, but he’s here. She’s looking at him. Emma wants nothing more than to reach through the mirror to take him into her arms and pull him to safety. Instead, she comforts herself by telling him it’s Operation: Cobra Rescue. They are coming for him.

He will _not_ think he is alone.

He will _not_ think he is forgotten.

He will believe he is loved.

But then—

“There's someone coming. It’s Pan. He has someone – a girl. I’ve gotta go. I love you.”

And just like that, Henry is gone.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Labor Day! Here's a new chapter of Finding Neverland!

Pan has Juliet.

They think.

Because that's the thing: they don't know for sure if he has her, just that they have a girl. That's what Emma reported to him when they got back to camp after their allotted four hours of looking for her. 

_"Henry said Pan brought a girl back to camp."_

But “a girl” can mean many things. If his memory is correct, Wendy Darling is also on the island, not that he can tell them that. He can't tell anyone that, so he sits by the fire, watching its flame flick upward. Brooding – that's what Juliet would say he's doing. She's told him more than once that he's a handsome brooder. He'll have to tease her that she missed some peak brooding if they reunite.

No, _when_ , not if.

He can't dwell on any other possibility than reuniting with her. Not that their problems will stop once her finds her. There's the whole "ensuring she will still exist" problem that they will have to figure out.

Gideon isn't sure how much they derailed the timeline. For all he knows, Emma and Hook could be well on their way to falling in love without him having helped her father. But Gideon doesn't know that for sure, and that's a problem. Because if they don't fall for one another her, if Juliet's father doesn't make a commitment to fight to her mother, well...that creates many more problems than Juliet existing. Villains defeated, days saved, a flap of a butterfly’s wings.

(If they don't get together, would he even exist?)

Before he can dwell much further on everything that was spiraling out of control, Juliet's father sits next to him, and offers his flask.

"You look like you could use a drink, mate." 

Gideon doesn't hesitate in grabbing the flask. He takes a long pull, reveling in the burn of the rum. It's never been his first drink of choice, but it's serviceable in a time of need. He’s spent enough time around Juliet to pick up a taste for it, at the very least.

"Don't worry about drinking too much. I had a witch enchant it so that it won't ever run out. Worth every dubloon, I'll say," Hook explains to him, not for the first time. Well, it might be the first time for the man sitting next to him, but it's not the first time hearing it for Gideon. He flashes back to a Christmas years ago, the first he spent at the Jones' house as Juliet's boyfriend and not family friend, when he first heard the story.

They sit in silence after that. Gideon continues to nurse the flask, willing for every drink to soothe is his frayed nerves. Though he doesn't intend to drink himself to oblivion – that would not help find Juliet – he's hoping for enough of a buzz to make him feel something other than fear.

He knows very little about his grandfather, just that he was powerful and evil. His father doesn't speak of him, not that Gideon blames him. But it leaves him at a deficit for what to expect. Is Pan anything like the Black Fairy? God, he hopes not. 

"Pan. What's he like?" Gideon asked aloud, looking over the Captain Hook. There are books, plays, and movies about their dynamic. If anyone would know, it's Juliet's father. "I know of his reputation, but you seem to know the actual him."

"He's a bloody demon, that's what he is," Hook says. His expression turns dark as he recalls what he knows about Pan. "He deals in dark magic, and he knows how to use it. But even worse: he knows how to manipulate others."

"With magic?"

"With his words. Language can be more powerful than the sword or spell," Hooks says. "I'm gotten meself out of just as many predicaments with my words as my sword."

Knowing Juliet's self-proclaimed inherited inability to stop talking, Gideon could believe Hook's claim. Not that he can tell the pirate that. Gideon takes another drink from the flask.

"What do you think he wants with J?" he asks. It's something Gideon can't quite puzzle out. Though he and Juliet aligned themselves with her family, it's not as if Pan has a specific grudge against her.  Her family, yes, but he shouldn't know that. 

"He could be attempting to sow discord among the group or distract us from searching for Henry," Hook offers, looking grim. "Her display of magic earlier might have interested him."

Gideon's not sure who is stronger between his grandfather and girlfriend. Juliet is powerful, but she hasn't truly practiced it all since moving to New York. It had been apparent over that few days prior, when they had still be in Storybrooke – though she still had power, Juliet's precision had definitely slipped.

“Speaking of your lover’s magic, where did it come from?”  
  
Gideon gazes across the fire to where Emma has set up camp. At glance, he can almost mistake her for Juliet. Juliet favors her mother, similar in both coloring and stature. Part of him is surprised that no one has commented on the resemblance, but another part is not. They aren’t looking. To everyone here, Juliet is just another blonde woman. Not anyone special. And yet…

“Inherited,” Gideon finally replies, “her magic is inherited.”

-/-

“So how did things go with Hook and Romeo?” Emma asks her father, casting a sidelong glance to Romeo and Hook. She can’t quite make out what they’re saying from her position, but Romeo has Hook’s flask, and they are huddled close together. They appear almost friendly, and she can hardly believe it, especially considering their mission had been a failure. “You know, aside from not finding her.”

Her father shrugs. “Romeo’s understandably worried. He lashed out a bit, but got it under control. I’m honestly a little surprised. He’s handling it better than I would.”

Emma makes a noncommittal noise, not wanting to voice her agreement with David. He was the one who placed himself under a sleeping curse when separated from Mary Margaret. There had been extenuating circumstances, of course, but his response had been extreme. She’s grateful, however, that Romeo isn’t exhibiting David’s dramatic tendencies nor those of his Shakespearean counterpart. _Yet_ , a voice in her head warns, one that she wants to ignore.

“And Hook?” she asks, knowing her father’s feelings regarding the pirate. Though a small part of her appreciates her father’s protectiveness – God, how she had wanted something like this growing up – it’s also become something of a hindrance.

“He handled Romeo well,” David answers, much to her surprise. Her father must note this, because he follows it up with, “I still don’t trust him, but it’s commendable how he seems to be helping him.” 

“He knows what it’s like to lose someone.” She thinks of the tattoo on his wrist, the one with Milah’s name. He’s been to hell and back, something that Romeo is careening towards with the disappearance of Juliet. She wonders if Hook recognizes this, if he’s trying to be the person to Romeo that he never had while grieving the loss of Milah. No matter his motivations, she can see the Romeo tentatively smile at something Hook is saying. Maybe, Emma thinks, there is more to the pirate than meets the eye.

“Speaking of losing people,” he father says, and Emma’s gut drops when she realizes just how he’s trying to segue the conversation, “I know you haven’t had time to process everything that happened with Neal.”

“I really don’t want to talk about that,” she snaps, because God, she doesn’t. He’s right that she hasn’t had time to process his death, but now is not the time to do so. Not with both Henry and Juliet’s lives at stake. Besides, she’s starting to feel like she’s doing something wrong by not grieving in the way her parents believe that she should. 

“I just want you to know that if you do want to talk, your mother and I are here.”

“I know,” she says, because she also knows that. But even if she did want to talk, she’s not sure it can be to them. Archie would maybe be the best – it’s his job to listen. Her parents and their beliefs on what love and True Love should be are the last people she thinks she can talk about Neal with. Not after everything he did. Not after everything they don’t know. But she can’t tell David that, so instead she tells him, “but I can’t think about any of that until I know Henry is safe. Neal would want that too.”

Because as fucked up as things were between them, Neal seemed to love Henry and to want to be a figure in his life. If the roles were reversed, Emma can at least make herself believe that her son’s father would be fighting tooth and nail to get him back. And that’s something she thinks her father might also believe. 

Her words appear to convince her father to drop the subject, because he doesn’t say anything more. Emma tries to settle, and looks across the fire at Romeo and Hook. They’re still talking, and if she strains, she can hear bits of the conversation. They’re talking about Juliet, and for a brief moment, Romeo looks happy and in love. She knows without a doubt if someone were to ask her about Neal, she wouldn’t look the same way, and maybe that’s why Hook is over there and she is over here feeling very much alone.  
  


-/-  


Juliet is dreaming.

She knows this, because she is in Storybrooke, standing on the street in front of her childhood home watching her grandfather help her balance on a small, pink bicycle. It’s a memory, she realizes, a memory of her at age five, learning how to ride a bike for the very first time.  
  
Juliet remembers loving that bike, riding it up and down the streets of Storybrooke. But the child in front of her, the smaller version of her in braided pigtails, doesn’t know how to ride a bike yet. She watches her grandfather instruct her on how to balance, her parents and grandmother watching from the front lawn.  
  
And then she off, riding down the street. Juliet knows what happens next. She watches as her smaller self wobbles then falls. She remembers the scrapes she received, but also what comes next: her parents race from the yard, and her father lifts her into his arms. Her mother comes next, using her magic to heal her wounds. 

Then they put her back on the bike. 

The dream shifts, and she is in the Enchanted Forest. This, too, is a memory. It’s the first time she was ever completely separated from her parents. Before she was born, it's something that apparently happened often – everyone being torn apart from one another. But nothing to that scale had happened since defeating the Black Fairy. Though Juliet had traveled to different realms, everyone had always been together – until then.

God, she had been terrified. 

Juliet watches her younger self huddle around a fire, its flames flicking shadows across her face. Juliet wanted to reach out to the younger girl, to promise her that her family would soon be reunited. But she can’t, frozen to her position on the other side of the flames, a spectator not and actor. But because Juliet has lived this moment before, she is unafraid.  
  
As she remembers, her grandmother comes to sit next to her, wrapping her arms around her younger self’s shoulders. _"Don't worry,"_ Grandma tells her, _"we always find each other. Always."_  

They do. They will.

“I will always find you.” That’s the family motto, right?

The dream shifts again. She is no longer in the Enchanted Forest. She is no longer in Storybrooke. Instead, she is in a coffee shop in New York City. She hears the dingle of the bell, and turns to watch an 18-year-old version of herself push through the entrance. She’s wearing a sweatshirt that has “Columbia University” emblazoned across the front and her eyes a rimmed red.

 _Thank God for waterproof eyeliner_ , she thinks now.

Juliet remembers this day all too well. It had been a few months into her first semester at Columbia. It was her first time away from home, and though her school gave her a community, college and New York City were nothing like Storybrooke. In New York, she wasn’t the daughter of the Savior, sister of Henry, princess of a far away land. She was invisible, and though there were times in which she reveled in it, her anonymity had increasingly felt like loneliness.

 _“I have to go. I’m at a coffee shop, and I’m about to order a drink. Then study, study, study,”_ her younger self says into her phone. _“Love you, Mom.”_

Juliet watches herself hang up the phone. She remembers the phone calls home, the ones where she never said she felt alone and adrift, but the ones where her parents must have known anyway. What would she tell herself now if she could?

That it gets better. That she will find her place. That she will spend a fantastic summer in Paris drinking wine, eating cheese, and studying art. That Storybrooke is always there waiting. That she has to figure it out on her own, but her family will always have her back, supporting her every step of the way. That in just a few seconds, she will crash into a man, and he will spill his drink down the front of her sweatshirt – the one that she still wears to bed and is stuffed in her closet – and—

_“I’m so sorry. I wasn’t paying attention and – Gideon?”_

– she’ll realize that she stumbled into someone from home, someone who understands her strange childhood, someone who will become her person.

Juliet feels the stirring of tears at the corner of her eyes. Is this her life flashing before her? It’s not exactly her greatest hits, but this is what happens when someone dies, isn’t it? Her father said it was a myth, that it didn’t truly happen but –

Juliet wakes. 

She is surrounded by darkness, and a few experimental tugs of her arms let her know her hands are bound. She tries to stretch out, but she can only move so far. She’s in a prison of sorts, once that she isn’t sure she knows how to escape. Juliet takes a few calming breaths in an attempt to stave off the panic threatening to overwhelm her. 

“You’re awake.”

She makes a startled cry at the noise, not expecting anyone with her in the darkness. The voice is unfamiliar – of course, it is unfamiliar – but Juliet tries to keep her wits about her. She’s weaponless, and try as she might, she is somehow unable to make her magic work.

“Who’s there?” she asks. Juliet attempts make her voice sound authoritative. She’s not sure if she conveys the intended effect, because when the man speaks, his tone is calm.

“Don’t worry. My name is Neal Cassidy, and I’m one of the good guys.”

  


 


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay. My muse left me, and I couldn't write anything. But as it stands, here's the new chapter! Someone finds out the secret!

Gideon doesn't sleep.

He can't, far too anxious about missing Juliet and derailing the timeline to calm himself. Normally when he can't sleep, he's read, but he doesn't have a book here. Besides, he thinks he might be too worried to even do that.

This is all my fault, he thinks, guilt coursing through his veins.

If he hadn't been stabbed during their fight with the Lost Boys, David might have been hit with an arrow. If he hadn't have disappeared after his fight with Juliet, she would still be here, safe and cuddled to his side, and they'd figure out how to fix this mess together. 

Some hero.

Maybe that was why his grandmother had taken him all those years ago. Maybe he was destined to destroy things. So what if he didn't kill Emma all of those years ago? He'd completely altered the course of her life now. 

He can't think like that. He can't. Drowning in self-pity will not bring Juliet back. It won't fix the timeline. Gideon presses the heels of his hands to his eyes, trying to force himself to think or not think. He'd take either at this point. 

His hope for Hook's rum to dull his senses appears to have been in vain. He now wishes he had drank more. He'd be useless while drunk, but he's already fairly useless now that buzz is quickly disappearing. 

He needs a plan. If he cannot sleep, he might as well plan. He tries to wrack his mind to recall just what had happened while everyone had been in Neverland. He'd relied on Juliet's knowledge of the events, and though he knows the big moments from this story, he does know the small, but also important, ones. As such, he finds himself wishing for a photographic memory and that he'd paid more attention to Henry's books in which he'd recounted the events.

Not that it would matter anyway. With the timeline already a disaster, Gideon isn't sure the even if he knew everything that events would play out as meant to.

Maybe it's a good thing Juliet doesn't know what has happened, Gideon thinks darkly. She'd be a nervous wreck knowing just how much her existence was a stake. An overly optimistic side of him hopes that by the time he's reunited with her, that maybe he will have fixed things. That way, the issue would have already been resolved by the time he tells her what happened. 

_"Hey, sweetheart, so your parents almost didn't get together, but no worries, I fixed it!"_

Yeah. Right.

Fixing the timeline is something that they're going to have to do together. But how? He keeps circling back to that. Of course, Gideon knows this isn't the first time the timeline has been broken. There's a certain irony in the fact that Emma altered the course of her parents' romance, and now her own is being altered by her daughter and himself. 

Fate. Destiny. Full circle.

He wants to scream. He wonders if this is how Emma felt when she learned she put her own existence at stake. If -- _when_ \-- they fix this, maybe he'll have to ask her. Gideon hopes that she will find humor in the situation. Maybe they all can start a club -- Juliet, her parents, and himself. Call it Time Traveller's Anonymous. They can compare notes for their adventures. He wonders if he and Juliet will get their pictures immortalized in Henry’s other book like Juliet’s parents had been. If they do, it won’t be nearly as romantic. It’s Neverland, and Gideon is certain that there isn’t a ball for his father–

His father.

His father helped Juliet’s parents find their way back home to where they belonged.

Maybe, just maybe, he can help them.

If Gideon can convince him to help. Would his father believe him if he showed up announcing that he was his son? Perhaps, but there is also a chance that the Rumplestiltskin here might believe him to be a trick by Pan. Leaving the group might also create problems in the future, should they think he deserted them.

But then Gideon thinks of Juliet, unsure of where she might be and what the future – if it still exists, might hold for her, for _them_.

His fathers has already saved the timeline one.

Gideon makes his decision.

-/-  
  
"You have got to be kidding me."

The words come out without thought, and had she been considering the situation more carefully, Juliet might have said something different. She should have played her reaction cool, instead of sitting slack-jawed at the circumstances that have led to her being trapped with Neal fucking Cassidy. But instead, she says the first thing that comes out of her mouth.

"I'm really not," he tells her, and Juliet can tell by his tone that he's confused. Her response is not what he expected, not that she can blame him. With her eyes finally beginning to adjust to the dark, she can begin to make him out. 

He's still a shadow, mostly, but then again he's always been. Henry's dad. Gideon's brother. Her mother's first love. Juliet barely knows what he looks like. She's seen him in old pictures – framed photos in her brother's and Gideon's parents' home, in her mother's box of memories –but she doubts she would recognize him on the street were he to suddenly appear. 

But here he is, Neal Cassidy in the flesh.

One of the “good guys.” 

But is he? He's the one who bailed on her mom because he was told to and the reason she had to set through many, many, many lectures on safe sex growing up. Her parents say he was a hero, but she doubts her father would have walked away if told to do so.

But it's Neal who is here, not her father. And right now she's supposed to be Juliet Of Verona, not Juliet Jones who knows about the man locked up beside her. 

"Where are we?" she inquires, because that's something both Juliet of Verona and Juliet Jones would ask. Because, truthfully, she has no idea where she is, even if she has a sinking feeling for just how she got here. 

"Not sure, actually."

"Well, you're helpful." Not. She tries tugging on whatever is binding her hands. If she can get them free, maybe can get herself out of here and find her family and Gideon. "Wait. Do you know if they brought a man to camp?"

Gideon had been missing before her blackout. If they had him...well, she's not sure what she could do. But being separated in the past isn't a good. 

"I don't know."

"For one of the good guys, you're kind of useless."

"I don't know because they moved us," Neal huffs out. He's annoyed with her, and Juliet's annoyed with him...but also herself. Because how could she have been taken? She's not a damsel in distress. She refuses to be. But now she's trapped with her brother's dead dad in some dark place that she's apparently been moved to and--

"They moved us?"

"I just said that."

"To here? They moved you and me to here?"

"To this cave, yeah."

Juliet's stomach drops. She knows exactly where they are. 

Echo Cave.

-/-

Gideon slinks through the forest. He keeps his footsteps light, hoping not to draw much attention from both the camp or any Lost Boys lurking in the forest.

Hook had been on watch when Gideon decided to leave. Getting around him had been a daunting prospect. Juliet’s father, both the past and future versions really, is far more discerning of a man than either of her grandparents. Gideon’s excuse of needing to relieve himself can only buy himself so much time before Hook alerts someone to go looking. At the very least, he finds some comfort in the fact that Emma hadn’t been on watch. Gideon is certain he would have tripped her lie detector somehow.

Gideon wonders if he possibly should have left a note, one explaining that he had gone searching for a way to find Juliet. That would have been the proper, heroic thing to do. But, he doubts that anyone would have let him go, whether out of distrust or concern for his own safety. Regardless of the might-have-beens or what-ifs, Gideon knows that nothing can stand between him and finding his father. As such, he needs to put as much distance between himself and the camp as possible. And then, quite possibly most importantly, figure out a way to find his father.

He fingers at the cuff around his wrist.

Not that he knows any tracker spells. He has the power, but not the skill. Besides, even if he did know how to use magic, he would still be breaking his personal vow. But if breaking his vow meant saving the life of the woman he loves and the future as he knows it, would it really be such a bad thing?

 _Is becoming the Dark One to save your son bad?_  
  
He jerks his hand away from his cuff as if it had scalded him.

He can, of course, attempt the method of just shouting his father’s name over and over again. Others have tried it, and succeeded. But his father might not answer, too concerned with saving his grandson to answer the call of a stranger. A stranger who is his son, but he doesn’t know that. Not yet, at least. To make matter worse, Gideon still needs to strategize a way to convince his father. He knows his father well enough to know that he can’t summon him without a plan, and he rakes his hair in frustration.

Then, he hears a snap of magic, and Gideon’s blood runs cold.

“Well, well, well, look who is far away from camp.”

Gideon turns to the voice behind him. He sees Pan leaning casually against a tree, his arms crossed in front of his chest. Gideon has never particularly wanted to meet his grandfather. Their encounter earlier, the one which nearly killed him, had been enough for enough lifetimes. This had not been the family reunion he had been hoping for, but the only upside to encountering his demon grandfather is that he at the very least had answers.

 

“Where’s Juliet?” Gideon asks, knowing he is in not position to make demands. He is weaponless, and Pan has his own magic and tricks.

“Not even a hello? Are there manners wherever it is that you come from?”

“Generally, it’s considered impolite to kidnap people, so pardon if I’m not the best example of conduct,” Gideon replies. He steels himself, standing taller in an attempt to look more imposing. “Now tell me where she is.”  
  
“Locked up,” Pan replies with a smirk. “She’s quite pretty when she’s passed out.”

Gideon’s blood boils, and he balls his hands into fists. He’s tempted to reach for his cuff. His magic, though unrefined, might be able to distract Pan and give him a chance to escape. “Why’d you take her?”

“Why not?” Pan laughs. “Do you want her back?”

Gideon schools his features to keep from showing his surprise. He knows the stories. Pan lies. Pan tricks. He isn’t called a demon for nothing. “What’s the catch?”

“Catch? You don’t trust me?”

“You kidnapped my girlfriend,” Gideon replies in deadpan. “So tell me the catch.”

“You would think someone whose girlfriend who has been kidnapped wouldn’t be in position to be making demands,” Pan comments, pushing himself away from the tree and walking closer to Gideon. “It’s impressive, but stupid. Just want I need.”

“And what’s that?”

“I need you to kill Emma and her family, of course,” Pan answers as if it’s the most obvious answer in the world. “You see, they’re becoming rather insistent thorns in my side, and I very much would like them to go away. That’s where you come in, and in return, I will return your beloved Juliet.”

“And how would I kill them? I’m outnumbered,” Gideon says, playing along. Perhaps leading Pan to believe that he would actually agree to such a plan might buy him some time. At the very least, it might prevent Pan from trying to kill him. “And how would I know that you won’t hurt Juliet?”

“What sort of person would I be if I broke my deals?” Pan asks. Gideon suppresses an eye roll. What is it with his family and fucked up deals? “As for how you kill the Charmings, no worries, I have that taken care of.” With a wave of his hand, he produces a waterskin. “In here, is some of most potent poison in Neverland. It’s your job to ensure they ingest it.”

“You want me to spike their drinks?”

“Something like that,” Pan answers with a shrug. “Now, if you don’t feel comfortable doing this, I can make sure it ends up somewhere else. Perhaps in your beloved Juliet’s drink?”

“I’ll take it.” Gideon reaches out is hand, bristling at his grandfather’s – his fucking grandfather – threat. He hopes he is playing his role believably. He doesn’t have a plan for how to proceed next, just that he has to get his grandfather off his case now while also ensuring Juliet’s safety.

“Maybe you aren’t as stupid as I thought,” Pan comments, handing over the poison. “Now, best get on. If they aren’t dead in twelve hours, your lady love will be.”

And then, he disappears.

Gideon stares at the skin of poisoned water in his hand, feeling at a loss. He has no intention to carry out Pan’s request, but where does he go from here? To his father? Back to the camp to confess everything? A sense of dread befalls him, knowing that Pan will likely be keeping eyes on him. If he fails to do what was asked, Juliet might be even more in danger.

God, by trying to be a hero, he might have fucked it up even more.

Gideon closes his eyes, and hoping for a sign of what he should do. He stays like that, standing with his eyes screwed shut, for a long while, breathing and thinking and getting absolutely nowhere.

He needs to find Juliet. He needs to restore the timeline. He needs to find a way for them to return home.

He just feels at a lost for how to accomplish any of that. Even worse, when he opens his eyes, he finds himself staring down the pointed end of a blade, Captain Hook on the other side.

He doesn’t look happy or friendly. Instead, Juliet’s father looks out for blood – Gideon’s.

-/-

"We can't be here."

Juliet tugs at the constraints around her wrists. She has know way of knowing just what sort of knots were used or which enchantments Pan placed on the bindings. Years ago, her father trained her on the various ways to release herself from various traps – _"You'll find out, Cygnet, that our family has a terrible penchant for being tied up."_ – but the lessons have faded in time and relied mostly on her being awake at the time she was bound. 

But that's the least of her worries, at least for right now. Right now, her biggest priority is figuring out how to escape the cave before the rest of her family arrives, and either she or Gideon is forced to reveal the nature of their temporal displacement to the group at large. That many people knowing surely wouldn't be a good thing. Only Gideon's father knew about her parent's adventure at the time. Too many people knowing would surely increase the likelihood of something going wrong with the timeline. Besides, how would she and Gideon even begin to make them all forget them without wiping out memories from the entire Neverland mission. 

"We really, really can't be here."

"You still haven't told me where here is," Henry's father replies. His voice remains annoyed, no longer holding the assuring tone he'd used when Juliet first woke.

Knowing that she has to provide an answer, she sighs. "Echo Cave."

"Shit." _Right on, buddy_ , Juliet thinks. "Pan's trying to fuck with us."

"Looks like it." No wonder her father's always called Pan a demon. 

Juliet can feel Neal's gaze as he studies her in the dark. She tries to shrink away from it, knowing no good could come from his scrutiny.

"So what did you do to have his sights set on you?" 

"Come here," Juliet responds. It's close enough to the truth, at the very least. Though he doesn't have her mother's lie detector, Juliet knows by now it's better to weave a web of as few lies as possible. "My boyfriend and I fell through a portal, and ended up in Neverland. I don't think Pan liked that very much.”

"He doesn't like a lot of things. Trust me, I know," Neal replies, and he's back to sound reassuring again. "So you're boyfriend's the man you were asking about earlier?"

"Yeah." An image of Gideon hurt and sprawled on the ground flashes through her mind. She feel the familiar sting of tears at the thought, and wills them away. "He was hurt earlier, and I healed him. Pan saw, and I think he wanted to move me off the chessboard.”

"My son and the woman I love are both here," Neal tells her in an attempt to find common ground, Juliet is sure. She tries not to cringe at the way her refers to her mother, but it's a difficult thing. Despite objectively knowing her mother had precious loves like everyone else, Juliet's always perceived her father the one and only. Neal's words feel false, even if she knows deep down he means them. "The woman I love, Emma, she has magic like you."

"I know." The words come out before Juliet can think them through, and she wants to smack herself. 

"You know?" She can hear the newfound suspicion in Neal's voice, because, of course, he would be suspicious. She has responded as Juliet Jones, the woman thinking fondly of her mother, and not Juliet of Verona, a stranger more or less. Juliet grapples for the right words, trying to explain her choice. 

"I know her. She's here. I was with her. She's trying to find Henry." The words tumble out quickly. "We joined them. Strength in numbers, you know? We thought they could get us home."

Neal is quite for a long while. Juliet bites her lip, hoping she proved to be convincing. She's not sure how she would handle him seeing her enemy, especially once they reunite with the group. Of course, if they reunite with everyone, it likely means some time travel secrets have already been revealed. 

"Pan's using us to distract them from rescuing Henry," Neal says suddenly, breaking his silence, "and he's hoping whatever secrets they have to reveal to save us messes with group dynamics long enough to delays us."

"You figured all of that out?" He's right, of course, but Juliet hadn't expected him to cotton on to Pan's plan so quickly. She's not sure why, other than picturing him as the antithesis to her father, but she's always envisioned him as being less than intelligent. 

"It makes the most sense," Neal answers by way of explanation, "but what doesn't make sense is that you already figured that out."

"What do you mean?" Juliet asks. She does her best to keep her voice neutral, and hopes that he can't see her shake out of nervousness.

"You already knew what Echo Cave was, despite coming here fairly recently," Neal says slowly. She can see him ticking off his fingers, and Juliet feels a surge of annoyance that his hands aren't bound. It dissipates quickly as he continues on. "In fact, once you figured out where we were, you freaked out."

"Hook told me," she answers. Again, not a lie. Her father did explain the mechanics of Echo Cave to her years ago. "And revealing secrets isn't fun, so who would want that?"

"That's the point, though. You're freaked out about them revealing their deepest darkest secrets. Emma, her family, Hook, they're all strangers to you. Their secrets shouldn't matter."

"There's my boyfriend. Did you ever think I might be afraid about what he could be hiding from me?"

"You're too worried about his safety right now to be worried about his secrets."

"Multi-tasking is a thing, you know. A person can feel more than one emotion."

"Yeah, they can, but that's not it," Neal replies. "You're worried about them finding out something about you and your boyfriend. Which makes me wonder what it is."

"You're crazy."

"And right," Neal says. Juliet tugs tighter at her bindings. She's unsuccessful. "So my guess is that you've been lying to them about something. Your names. Where you came from. Who you're allied with."

"I am not lying about my allegiances."

"You didn't deny the other two."

Juliet narrows her eyes. Her heart is beating wildly in her chest, and she feels like vomiting. She's been caught, Neal knows it too. Juliet also knows that any further denials will likely lead him to believe that she's working for Pan, and a threat to Henry, which would be a very bad thing.

Well, once everyone gets here, they will all figure out the truth anyway, Juliet thinks. Assuming they don't think she and Gideon are villains from the future. Terminators or whatever her mother's mind would jump to.

What a terrible time traveler she is.

But that's when it hits her, the realization that everyone will know her secret eventually. Her parents. Her grandparents. 

Neal.

And, well, he’s going to die soon anyway.

"Okay, Buddy, you want to know my secret?" she asks. She does her best to sound tough, formidable. "I'm a time traveler, and I'm from your future."

 


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know, I did intend to get a new chapter up sooner. But life in the form of a new job got in the way, and it has taken some time to mentally adjust to that. Also, my commute is shorter (huzzah!), so that means less writing on the train. The good news is that this chapter is over 7000 words, so it's not like I'm giving you a tiny update. Things happen in this chapter!

There’s this trope that’s present in many of the movies and television shows Gideon has seen and the books he’s read: the father who very much doesn’t like his daughter’s new boyfriend. The father cleans his gun whenever the guy comes over to pick her up from a date. There’s a threat to the boyfriend’s manhood. Gideon’s experienced it before with previous girlfriends, and he’d always been somewhat prepared to be threatened by the guy nicknamed “Captain Hook”. Of course, that physical threat had never come. There had been, and continue to be, a few passive aggressive comments. But no physical threats, not even after the man had walked in on both Gideon and Juliet barely clothed on the reference desk of the Storybrooke library. (Though there had been a lecture -- a very painfully awkward lecture.)

So, when considering all of the situations that might have led to Gideon staring down Captain Hook’s blade, this had never crossed his mind.

“This isn’t what it looks like,” Gideon says, feeling rather stupid for uttering the most obvious line to say when found in such a situation. Maybe he has been joining Juliet on too many of her movie marathons. 

“Are you suggesting that I was hallucinating your conversation with the demon?” Hook doesn’t move his sword. “What’s next? Are you going to tell me that the drink you’re carrying is rum?”

“I just agreed to get him to leave. I was playing him. I swear.”

“Ah, and your attempts at deceiving me were what exactly? It appears you’re not being honest to anyone.” 

Gideon scrambles for an answer, instantly regretting his plan. Lying to Hook earlier is very clearly biting him in the ass now, and he’s nowhere near closer to finding his father or Juliet. “I lied to you because I was going to search for a way to find Juliet. Can you honestly tell me that if I had told you where I was going, you would’ve let me go?”

“Funny that you’re now speaking of honesty.”

“I promise that I had no intentions of killing you all. Trust me, that is the last thing I want to do.”    
  
_ Because then the future would really be fucked, and it is likely neither I nor my girlfriend will exist, and I want both of these things to really happen. And if I could tell you why, then you would want it to happen too.  _

“I think the time for asking for my trust is over, mate.”

Unsure of what to do, Gideon holds his ground. He knows he’s at a disadvantage. He has no weapons and he’d rather not get into a fistfight with Juliet’s father. He hopes that if he gets out of this, that the whole situation will be something they can laugh about in the future. Hopefully. 

_ “Hey, remember that time you almost tried to murder you because you thought I was going to murder you in your sleep?” _

But to get to that point, he has to convince the Hook here not to kill him. Which appears to be a more difficult task than normal. Gideon wonders if Pan had actually planned this, and his grandfather had known Hook was trailing him. He enjoys sowing discord among others, right? And discord Pan has sown. 

_ Now to fix it… _

Barring giving in and using his magic, the only other advantage that Gideon has over Hook is his knowledge of the man and the future. He knows far more about Killian Jones than Killian Jones knows about him, and that might be the only way to save himself.

“The woman I love is missing. I knew you wouldn’t let me go into the jungle alone, so I lied to you. I’m sorry about that,” Gideon attempts to explain slowly, hoping he could appeal to the other man’s heart,  “but you should know better than anyone why I needed to go find her.”

His words have their intended effect, causing Hook to startle. His face then hardens considerably, and Gideon wonders if he played the wrong hand. 

“You’re right. I do understand why you needed to go find her. Just as I understand the lengths one would go to in their name,” Hook tells him, his voice full of venom. “The blood I’ve shed seeking vengeance on the Crocodile...why should I believe that you’re any different?”  
  
Yep. Definitely the wrong hand. 

“Because I’m telling you the truth now.”

“Only because you’ve been caught.”

Gideon frowns, feeling like he’s going in circles with Hook. He needs to figure out a different plan to get out of this, but how? Hook is convinced he’s a villain at this point, no different than the way Charming has been acting toward him. Villain. Pirate. That’s what they call Hook. And to make matters worse, what was once meant to be a bonding moment between Hook and Emma’s father is now gone because of him, not to mention what else could go wrong next. Hook isn’t on his way to being seen a hero. Emma and Hook also haven’t kissed. What’s next? His brother isn’t found and Pan steals Henry’s heart, dooming the entire future?   
  
It’s the brief thought of his brother that gives him an idea. A risky one. One that will most assuredly blow up in his face, and lead to more problems. But those problems likely wouldn’t be worse than dying, would they? And if they help give the motivation to save Juliet…

“You don’t believe me then? How about this: take me to Echo Cave and I will prove it.”   
  
Hook eyes him carefully. “How do you know about that?

“I read about it in a book,” Gideon replies. It’s the truth, not that Hook needs to know that it is Henry’s book in which he read it. At Hook’s hesitance, he adds, “If we go, you’d know if I’m lying.”

Hook shakes his head. “That’s where you’re wrong, mate. The cave doesn’t detect lies, but rather encourages one to reveal their darkest secrets.”

“And if my life is on the line, I’m pretty certain my darkest secret will involve if I’m lying to you or not. So what do you have to lose?”

 

-/-   
  
  
Juliet is not sure what she expected to happen when she made her announcement. At first, she is vaguely horrified that she actually went through with her confession. She looks at Neal, watching his expression as he tries to process what she said. He opens his mouth, to say what Juliet isn’t sure, because his words are drowned out by roar of rocks and dirt assembling together. She jerks her head toward the noise, amazed to see a path beginning to form over the abyss.

“It works,” she gasps leaning forward to get a better look. There’s still a ways to go between the newly formed path and the pillar where she and Neal are trapped, but it’s a start. “We can get out of here!”

“You’re from the future?” Neal finally asks her, more concerned with her revelation than their apparent escape.

“Um, yeah,” she replies. She jerks her head back to the newly formed section of the bridge. “Now, tell me your deepest, darkest secret so we can get out of here.”

“How did you even get here? Delorean, Time Turner, Terminator-style...”

“I will answer all of that if you tell me your big life secret,” Juliet snaps at him. “Look, the quicker we get out of here, the likelihood of more people figuring out who we are and derailing the timeline, potentially preventing—“

“Okay, okay, I get it.” Neal raises his hands in supplication, and Juliet feels a wave of envy at his freedom. “So I need to tell you my deepest secret...” He pauses in consideration. “You won’t tell anyone, will you?”

“I keep yours, you keep mine.”

Neal pauses before taking a deep breath. “So how much do you know about my history with Emma?”

“Enough,” Juliet answers. “She told me.”

She doesn’t tell him which version of Emma told her the details. She wonders if the retelling of the story would differ if told from the perspective of Emma in this time period, and not as a story shared between mother and daughter.

“When? Wait, never mind. Knowing too much about the future messes things up.” He shakes his head as if forcing himself to stop wondering more about Juliet’s revelation. She doubts it will work. “Anyway, when she and I separated, I didn’t know about Henry.”

“And this is where you tell me that had you known, you would have stayed. That’s not really a secret.”

“No, this is when I tell you I likely wouldn’t have. That’s my secret. If I had known about Henry, I still would have left.”

Juliet’s soft “oh” is drowned out by the roar of rocks twisting over themselves to further to bridge. Much to her dismay, however, there’s still a sizeable gap between the path’s end and their location. She sags against the bars of their cage.

More secrets.

Not that Neal seems to register this. He’s continuing his explanation of his confession, “It’s just that back then, I was so afraid of seeing my dad again. He’s the Dark One, and god, after everything he did, I didn’t want to be pulled into that life again. And being with Emma meant that I would have to face him. I know I would have been too afraid then, even knowing I had a son.”

“You don’t have to explain to me. I’m not the one you left behind.”

Much to her own surprise, Juliet feels for Neal. It’s clear that he feels ashamed with his confession. Not that she really understands. Gideon’s father is hardly the terrifying the man the stories make him out to be, but she supposed that Mr. Gold has mellowed with time and his family’s influence. Regardless, she has trouble envisioning him being awful enough to abandon your family over. But to Neal, he had been. And in this moment, it’s clear that Neal hates himself for being so afraid.

“I just need you to understand why I left, and why I don’t want this getting back to Henry. I love him now, I do. He’s my son, and he’s a really great kid.”

“And knowing would crush him,” Juliet finishes. At the very least, learning that her father originally would have abandoned her would have crushed her. Not that her father would have even considered it. “Look, I’m not going to go blabbing to Henry. Believe it or not, I’m actually good at keeping secrets.”

Neal appears relieved at this, but it’s short-lived as he realizes his own secret wasn’t enough to finish their path to escape.

“Looks like you’re up,” he tells her, and Juliet’s stomach sinks. “Considering you have an entire future I don’t know about, I doubt it’s going to hard to come up with something.”

But that’s the problem. Juliet has an entire future of secrets to keep from him, and she doesn’t know which one would count as the darkest. She’s not even sure how this stupid cave works, because the secrets she wants to keep from Neal might not necessarily be the secrets she wants to keep from Gideon.

“This is bullshit.”

“You’re right, but that’s no secret,” Neal jokes, making her want to punch the stupid smirk off his face. It must show, because the next thing he says is, “How about I help you out of these bindings while you think of something? Also, can you turn around? I might be able to get them off.”

Juliet does as he requests, putting her back to him. It takes some creative maneuvers in the small space, but eventually, it works. “I’m surprised you’re not plying me for any tidbits about the future.”

“I’ve seen the movies. I know well enough not to ask too much about the future.” Juliet feels Neal tug on the bindings on her arms. “Besides, I assume that you existing and also knowing who I am means the future isn’t too fucked up.”

“Oh really?”

“Don’t sound too surprised —  _ fuck _ , these knots are a mess. At the end of the day, I’m pretty much a no one. I’m man enough to admit that. And because I am a nobody, you knowing who I am probably means that someone I care about makes it out of this to tell you about me.”

“I could be Kyle Reese, you know,” Juliet says with a small laugh, impressed with his reasoning. She grimaces as he tugs on her bindings. “Sent back here to prevent Skynet and protect Sarah Conner.”

“Another point in the future’s favor: it’s not fucked up enough that  _ Terminator _ references are a thing of the past.”

“Franchises are a thing.”

“Meaning that the future is stable enough for franchises. Plural.”

“Fine. You got me. The future isn’t some dystopian nightmare.” Suddenly, the bindings around her arms go slack, and Neal pulls them away. “Thank God.”

Her arms ache from being held behind her for so long, but they’re free, and that’s all that matters.

Talking with Neal is surprisingly easy. He’s endearing when he isn’t getting on her nerves, and she appreciates that he’s attempting to put her at ease. The actuality of him is so at odds with the person she had created in her head that it’s almost disorienting.

“It’s strange that Pan tied you up and not me,” Neal comments. “Not that I don’t think you are capable or anything.”

“It’s my magic,” Juliet explains. She picks up the bindings and studies them. They look like simple rope, but they’re obviously more than that. “Something in them was preventing me from using my magic.”

“You have magic?” He sounds apprehensive. Afraid.

“Yeah. I was born with it.” She hates the defensive tone her voice takes. Like Gideon, magic clearly makes Neal nervous, but Gideon’s hangups have always been internal. He’s never acted afraid of her own magic, and he’s never taken the accusatory tone Neal is now.

Maybe her original assessment  _ had  _ been right.

Regardless of his feelings toward her magic, she can at least use it to help them. She closes her eyes in concentration and grabs Neal’s arm.

“What are you doing?”

“Seeing if I can teleport us.” Juliet can feel the magic flaring in her fingertips, but nothing happens. She tries again, and like before, they are still rooted in the same spot.   
  
“I see that’s a no.”

“I’ve done this like one hundred times before. Why isn’t this working?”

“It’s Echo Cave, remember? You can’t leave until you reveal more secrets,” Neal explains, pulling his arm away from her, “and that includes stopping magical means of escape.”

“Then why the fuck would Pan tie me up?” she huffs. She snaps, and a small flame appears above her index finger. At least her magic still works, meaning that leaving might be the only thing she’s prevented from doing. Deciding to test her theory, she concentrated her magic on disabling the locking mechanisms that are keeping her and Neal trapped in the cage. Much to her relief, it works. “Well, at least we can get out of this thing.”   
  
“And now we need to get out of this cave and to my family.”   
  
_ Our family _ , Juliet mentally adds. Not that Neal needs to know that. “Which means more secrets. God, it’s like a high school slumber party all over again.”

“Seeing as how I’ve never been a teenage girl, I wouldn’t know.”

“It’s a total blast. Hormones, classes, maintaining your place atop the social pyramid,” Juliet replies with a smile at the memories. “Of course, back then my biggest secret was that I went to second base with Susan Sparrow’s boyfriend at the after-prom party my junior year.”

“Somehow I doubt that secret is what’s going to get us out of here,” Neal says dryly. He crosses his arms over his chest and huffs. “And since standing around here isn’t helping us save Henry, then I have another secret -- it’s my goal to get rid of magic. Period.”   
  
The world around them comes to life as the path extends itself, rock and dirt churning together. Juliet holds her breath in anticipation how far it will go, praying to whoever will listen that Neal’s secret is enough. 

It’s not.    
  
Juliet eyes the gap between them and incomplete bridge. She wonders if they can jump, and if it is worth the risk. It’s up to her now to reveal a secret, something she desperately doesn’t want to do. She knows she’s already gone too far by revealing to Neal when she is from. Their escape will already alter the timeline as she knows it, but Juliet reckons that she and Gideon will be able to concoct a plan that will force her father to admit that he’s falling for her mother.  _ That should be easy _ , she thinks. But still, messing things up or revealing too much already puts her at unease. 

It doesn’t help that she has no idea what to tell Neal. That he never gets with her mother because her True Love is someone else? That she’s Juliet Jones, daughter of Killian Jones and Emma Swan? That his brother is also here on this island, the same brother that he will never get a chance to meet because --

“You’re dead.”

“What?” Neal asks, not registering the words she had said. He quirks his head to the side. “Can you repeat that?”   
  
And that’s it. That’s her secret. Because she’s pretty sure he might be able to move past those other things. Any decent person might be. But there’s a difference between knowing the woman you love finds happiness with someone else and knowing you’ll die. And between the two, Juliet might get some sense of smug satisfaction out of the former, but when considering the latter, she feels like she’s handing out a death sentence. 

Gideon once told her one of the worst things about his job is telling the families that they lost a loved one or telling the patient themselves that they don’t have long to live. Her parents told her something similar with their jobs. Though murders in Storybrooke were rare, there had still been plenty of fatal car accidents, and it was often one of her parents who would deliver the sad news. Juliet can still recall the haunted looks on her parents’ faces after those nights.    
  
This is one of the reasons why Juliet had stuck to art history. Paintings and sculpture don’t have feelings. But no matter how much she had wanted to avoid things, she’s here now, doing it with Neal. 

She takes a deep breath. 

“In the future. You’re dead.”  
  
She turns away from Neal as the bridge completes itself.

 

-/-

  
He’s shocked that Hook believed him, though perhaps “believed” isn’t the correct word to use. Hook, at the very least, is tolerating him, likely curious about the mystery Gideon has set forth. Echo Cave will provide some answers for the man and even more questions, especially once he learned the truth. Though Gideon isn’t quite sure the exact mechanics of Echo Cave, he’s sure he’ll be compelled in some way to reveal the nature of his and Juliet’s appearance in Neverland. How Hook will react to that, Gideon isn’t positive, but if the cave confirms his confession, then Juliet’s father will be sure to believe it.

Right?

He’s sure that Juliet will be mad at him for telling her father the truth of where they’re from, but he hopes that she’ll understand once he’s given the opportunity to explain. Perhaps Hook knowing they’re from the future could work to their advantage even, making the other man more malleable to any suggestions to get him around Emma some more. God, even thinking that makes Gideon feel somewhat skeezy.    
  
But it’s what they have to though, right? Manipulate situations to ensure that somehow, some way, Emma and Hook kiss and admit their feelings in some roundabout way, repairing the timeline in some manner. Even if by taking Hook to Echo Cave is further drawing them off course from what should be happening.    
  
Juliet’s going to kill him. She’s going to flay him alive, kill him, bring him back from the Underworld, and kill him again. 

Assuming he sees her again, and that Pan doesn’t make good on his threat to hurt her. 

His heart drops at the thought. He’s failing her, he’s sure of that. He’d been unable to keep her safe from Pan -- was the entire reason for her being separated from the group in the first place -- and he might not even be able to save her. And even if he does, her existence is still at incredible risk. 

Gideon wonders how Hook will react if he told him everything, all of the dirty details. His plan currently is to simply reveal his and Juliet’s status as time travelers, and inform him that the future hinges on the Charming family’s survival. But what if he told him more? About Hook’s relationship with Emma and about Juliet. Would he even believe him? Would the pirate even want to?

Yes. Of that Gideon has no doubt. He’s also fairly certain that Hook is well on his way to falling for Emma at this point, kiss or no kiss, confession or no confession, but would he recognize that about himself without the extra push? Would Hook and Emma instead just dance around the idea of feelings and attraction until it is too late. Even now, Gideon only has a few days to work with before Pan’s curse is meant to sweep them all up. Would Hook give up his ship for Emma at this point?   
  
And then there’s his own brother to consider. Neal is somewhere on this island, presumably also a prisoner of Pan. In fact, he’s supposed to also be at Echo Cave. That is, if Gideon remembers the story correctly. Will he be there? His stomach lurches at the thought. 

“How much farther?” he asks in an attempt to distract himself from his conflicted thoughts.    
  
Juliet’s father harrumphs to his side. “Too far for my liking.”   
  
Whatever congenial relationship they had been developing at the camp is now gone. It’s disappointing, because it felt like he and Juliet had someone on their side. There was also the small, selfish part of him that thought he could use this moment to further bond with Juliet’s father in the future. Gideon may have gotten his blessing, but every moment matters, right? 

“Just so you know, I’m not going to hold this against you,” Gideon tells him. Maybe someday Hook will remember how Gideon had stayed cool under this kind of pressure. “I understand why you don’t trust me. I probably wouldn’t trust me in this given situation.”

“How generous.”    
  
Hook says nothing more after that as he leads Gideon through the jungle. Gideon watches as Hook’s blade deftly cuts through the brush. It wasn’t too long ago that the same blade was pointed toward his throat. 

“I’m honestly a little grateful, you know, for not killing me immediately,” Gideon comments upon the realization at just how close to death he had been. “Why didn’t you?”

“I wanted an explanation.”

“You strike me as the who is a swing first, ask questions later kind of guy,” Gideon says, recalling the stories he’d heard about Captain Hook’s past.  _ “Did you know that my dad used to wear the rings of the men he’d killed? How fucked up it that?”  _ Juliet had once told him.

“I doubt Emma or her parents would have been happy with me hauling your fresh corpse back to camp without one,” Hook finally says. There’s a not-so-subtle threat in his words, but there’s also something else. 

“You care about what they think, Emma and her family.” Hook scowls, but doesn’t answer. Gideon doesn’t miss the fact that the other man begins to swing his cutlass with more force than necessary. “It’s okay that you do. They seem like the kind of people who make you want be better.”

Memories of his early relationship with Juliet spring to mind, how she’d pushed him out of his comfort zone more than once. Try this food. Go to this club. Attend this pop-up gallery. Small things that forced him to look up from his studies and the cozy life he’d been living. Because the thing he’d learned about the Charming family was that they made you, in their own little way, want to try. Emma’s effect on Hook had clearly been more profound than Juliet on his in the moral sense. Gideon had never had to walk away from a life of villainy. But he’d been changed. He’d been challenged. 

  
And if Hook is feeling the force of that family led by Emma currently,  then there is still hope.

 

-/-

 

“You can’t just drop something like that and ignore me!”

Juliet rushes out of the cave, putting forth her effort to do just that. Neal follows behind her, eager to gain more information about his future, or lack of one. She doesn’t blame him for being upset, not really. Juliet doubts that she would react well to being told that she is destined to die.She doesn’t turn around to look at Neal, not sure she can bear it. She feels a surprising amount of guilt knotted in her belly. She tries to push it away. She’s not the executioner, even though she feels like it right now.    
  
What makes matters worse, in a strange, cosmic sense, is that she’s supposed to want Neal to die. Eventually. When he’s fated to. It’s something that goes against almost everything she had been raised to believe. Heroes don’t want other people to die. Heroes aren’t supposed to be culpable. But if she knows it’s going to happen, and does nothing to prevent it, does that mean she’s partially to blame? In undergrad, she had taken a philosophy class that discussed the “Trolley Problem.” Is it murder to send a trolley down a path that will kill one person in order to save five? Is this the same thing?

And it shouldn’t even matter because he doesn’t die here anyway, but in a little over a year. But it’s something that’s all in the open now. She knows. He knows. And though she hadn’t really been able to think about it earlier, Juliet is forced to now. Especially since he seems quite upset about it.    
  
He’d always been ancient history to her -- a ghost. Someone that flicked through her mind whenever Henry mentioned him or when she visited Gideon’s parents. But Neal Cassidy is with her now, and though he’s mostly been annoying, he’s a person to her now.   
  
“What do you want me to say? Everyone dies, some more than once and some earlier than others,” she snaps, powering ahead. “I wouldn’t have told you if it wasn’t the only way to get us out of the cave.”

“Yeah, well, you did tell me. And since I can’t unlearn that little secret, I think you should tell me how it happens.” Neal grabs Juliet’s arm, and she jerks back. Involuntarily, she snaps her magic, throwing him back a few feet. He lands on the ground with a hard thud, and Juliet winces. As he pushes himself up, he glares. “Was that necessary?”

“You shouldn’t have grabbed me.” Juliet reaches out a hand to help him up. He doesn’t take it. “It was an accident, for what it’s worth. Reflex.”

“You do this to every person who grabs you?”

“Shockingly, not many people grab onto me,”Juliet responds dryly. She crosses her arms over her chest. “ and like I said, magical reflex. It happens sometimes when emotions run high.”

“You’re the one with high emotions? I just found out that I’m going to die!” 

“Yeah, well, today hasn’t been a picnic for me either,” Juliet snaps back, already knowing how pathetic her argument sounds. She can hear Gideon calling her out for making situations like this about her. And, well, look at how well that had turned out for her. Perhaps Neal does have a point, but there’s already quite a bit at stake. Trying to find someplace in the middle, she says, “Look, I get that you’re upset. That’s understandable. But even earlier you admitted how messed up things might get if you knew too much.”

“That was before I knew I was going to die,” Neal argues. He stands and rakes his hand through his hair. “Can you at least tell that I’m able to help Henry before I...you know?”

Juliet bites her lip and averts her eyes from Neal. She already feels like she’s told him too much, and she’s already altered the timeline enough. But...how the hell does this fit into being a hero or good person? Neal is clearly upset, and if the situations were reversed, she would be too. She tries to think what her mother would do in this situation.

“You do. You make also make it back to Storybrooke,” she tells him, hoping she’s made the right decision. She watches as some of the tension drain away, but he still looks troubled. “As for Henry, just know that he’s an adult where I come from. He, uh, has a wife and kids. One of them’s a newborn, actually.”

“How do I know you aren’t lying to me?” Neal asks. Juliet can see the glimmer of hope in his eyes, even if he’s not quite willing to accept what she’s told him. 

“You don’t.”

Neal sighs. “Okay, then, what about Emma. Is she okay?”

“I’m trying to be nice to you and tell you that your son is okay. I can’t be revealing who gets a to live ‘happily ever after’,” Juliet says. She’s trying to be the good person -- caring and empathetic. 

“I just want to make sure the people I love--”

“The people you love what? Are safe? Or aren’t? If I tell you she’s dead, can you honestly tell me that it wouldn’t affect how you behave going forward? What about if she gets that happy life, finds True Love, gets married, has a kid, will that affect how you behave with her?” Juliet asks, her earlier attempt at compassion giving way to frustration. She’s not even sure what goes down between her mother and Neal at this point in their lives, but whatever it isn’t shouldn’t be altered, right? “Because here’s the thing: everything we change likely changes something else. I know something has already changed. You know Echo Cave? We got ourselves out of there. In the past, it was my family who--”

“Your family?” Neal’s eyes go wide. “Your family, as in Emma and her parents?”

_ Fuck. _

“I didn’t say that,” Juliet replies, mentally berating herself for slipping. “You’re reading into what I said.”

“I don’t think I did,” Neal says with a shake of his head. He studies her warily and moves a step closer. Juliet stands rooted into place. “You look a bit like her.”

“Her?”

“Emma. You look like her.”

If any other person had told her this, Juliet might have responded with a smile and ‘thanks’. Being compared to her mother is something Juliet enjoys. But now, in this situation, she shakes her head. “We’re both blonde, white women. The resemblance stops there.”

“Nah, and I think we both know you’re lying.” He steps closer. “Who are you?”

_ How would Mom and Dad handle this? _ _   
_ __   
As with before in the Cave, Neal is very clearly onto her. And it’s all been her fault, her and her stupid mouth. During their time adventure, her parents had covers -- Princess Leia and Prince Charles -- and neither of her grandparents figured it out. The only person who knew was Gideon’s father, but that’s because he was their ticket home. And Juliet doubts that Neal -- magic hating, sentenced to die -- Neal is that person for them. 

So, she evades.    
  
“Do you really think I’m going to tell you that?”

“I could guess.”

“I would rather you didn’t. And I won’t confirm if you’re right or not even if you did.” She sounds like a petulant teenager, arguing with Neal this way. But Juliet has never reacted well to being undermined or trapped, and if she has to go out fighting, she will. Even if she has to act like a teenage girl. 

“It makes sense, you know, you being here now,” Neal says. He’s still looking at her with an expression of strange, academic interest. “I was trying to figure it out. You had to be here for some reason.”

“That reason being an  _ accident _ .”

“Yeah, but you’re here. No one randomly travels places.”

“Tons of people randomly time travel places. Doctor Who, the guy from  _ Quantum Leap _ ,” she begins ticking off each example with her fingers in a futile attempt to derail the conversation. 

“But you aren’t those guys,” Neal points out, looking smug.  _ Aren’t time travelers normally supposed to be the smug ones in these situations, _ Juliet thinks with annoyance. She can’t wait to tell Gideon how much of an ass his brother is. Then she comes up with an idea.

“How about I don’t tell you who I am, but something you would also find to be of interest?” Juliet suggests. It’s a stupid plan. A monumentally stupid plan. But maybe this is something that she can use to her advantage. She can use Gideon as a distraction. Surely he would love to learn more about the brother he’d never get the chance to meet as opposed to her. They could talk, and she’s sure Gideon would love to learn more about Neal. Her plan might actually be able to kill two birds with one stone.

But it’s a terrible plan, and she’s terrible at this time travel thing. To think her mother’s past self effectively hating her was once her worst problem on this misadventure. What she wouldn’t give to be home in New York right now…

“I’m really not sure what would be more interesting than this.”

“Okay, so you know my boyfriend? He’s your brother. Half-brother.”

And suddenly, as if he had been cued, Gideon comes crashing into the clearing, her father behind him. 

-/-

  
There has always been a part of Gideon that doubted if he would ever see her again. He’s not an optimist, not inherently. He plays one, sometimes, for her, when the world gets her down, but more often than not he’s convinced that he’ll fail...and so far, this entire adventure has been proof of that. 

But one step through the jungle and into the light and it’s  _ her _ . 

She looks terrible. Her blonde hair is in disarray. Her jeans are torn at the knees and there’s smatterings of mud on her clothing. She’s never looked more beautiful.

“ _ Gid _ ?” she asks, and the next thing he knows, she’s launching herself into his arms and pulling him into a kiss. If they had been cursed, there would be rainbows, he’s sure of that. She pulls away much too soon and cups his face in her chilled hands. “Oh my god, it’s really you.”   
  
He doesn’t have anything to say to that, so he smiles back at her dumbly and nods. His heart swells when he notices how her smile grows wider, and god, if he doesn’t believe there’s an extra sparkle in her pretty blue eyes. She’s here. She’s alive. She’s safe. “Are you okay?” he somehow manages to ask, too entranced by the spell of finally being reunited, of having her here and no longer wondering  _ what if? _

“Why wouldn’t I,” she answers, looking quite proud of herself. “I’m a survivor, babe.”

They’re too caught up in their own reunion to be aware of the one happening beside them, not until they hear Hook croak, “Bae?”

Pulling his attention from the woman in his arms, his gaze follows Hook’s to the man standing a few feet away.   
  
Neal.

He looks like the picture of him. Short dark hair, a little rugged. He’s shorter than Gideon thought he’d be. He wonders what he sounds like. 

“Hey, everyone, I found Neal. Turns out he isn’t dead,” Juliet says, cutting the tension. She laughs somewhat hysterically then, and Gideon isn’t sure why because this situation doesn’t seem funny. And then she turns back to Neal and tells him, “This is my boyfriend,  _ Romeo _ .”

  
The familiar way in which Juliet is speaking to his brother is surprising, and he wonders just what transgressed between them in the period between her disappearance and now. He feels a stab of jealousy at whatever period she’s had to bond with him, someone who he’s pretty sure she’s never given a second thought to in her entire life. But maybe this is his chance.

“He’s your..my...he’s...is his name actually Romeo?”

“You really shouldn’t make fun of people’s names,  _ Baelfire _ ,” Juliet grits out. “Not to mention Neal Cassidy isn’t anything to write home about, Jack Kerouac.”

Gideon glances between his girlfriend and his brother in an attempt to ascertain just what had happened between them when imprisoned by Pan. And then he realizes their location, and pieces it all together. Neal  _ knows _ . How much, Gideon isn’t sure. But Neal has to know something. It’s why they’re speaking strangely. It’s why she emphasized his name. Juliet had been speaking in sort of code to Neal, a warning, perhaps, about their fake identities. 

But Gideon isn’t able to confirm anything, not now, not with the audience they have. Hook is still in the dark, and there’s now a chance that it might stay that way, especially considering the way he continues to stand gawking at Neal. 

“How?” Hook asks, eyes still trained on Neal. Gideon realizes that he and Juliet could practically disappear, and the pirate wouldn’t know. 

“I fell through a portal to the Enchanted Forest, not the Underworld,” Neal replies with a shrug. He maintains a cool demeanor, even if he doesn’t appear to know where to look, glancing between Juliet and Gideon and Hook. “Some friends patched me up, and I hitched a ride with a shadow here.”  
  
Juliet then interrupts any further inquiry, craning her head around to look behind Gideon and Hook.   
  
“Wait. Where is everyone?” She casts a questioning look to Gideon. He can hear the unspoken  _ “They should be here.”  _ that she can’t say aloud. She must realize that she has to play a part again, because she follows her previous statement with, “Not that I’m complaining, but why are you guys even here?”   
  
Hook shakes his head, as if willing himself back into the reality of the situation. He shifts his toward Gideon and Juliet, and his expression turns dark. “Well, lass, your lover was tasked by Pan to kill everyone in our crew.”

“Okay, and..?” Juliet lets out a bemused laugh. She glances from Gideon to her father. “You brought him out here for what?”

“He thinks I was actually going to go through with it, which I wasn’t,” Gideon explains. He places extra emphasis on the last part. He’d been hoping that both Neal and Juliet’s presence would distract Hook from their original reason for being here. His hopes had been for naught. “As it stands, we were going off to Echo Cave to prove that I was, in fact, not going to kill everyone.”   
  
Juliet remains quiet for a moment before she extricates herself from Gideon’s arms. He feels bereft at the loss. She walks over to Hook, and says, “I know what it looks like, but he really wouldn’t hurt anyone. Trust me.”

“I know what men will do when the lives of those they love are at stake,” Hook replies. 

“He’s not like those men. Besides, killing you all would not help at all.”

“I’ll be the judge of that.”

“With all due respect, I think your judgement is a little off,” Juliet says gently. If she had been talking to anyone else, Gideon knows her tone would have contained more spark. However, despite looking younger, she’s still very much speaking to her father. “Maybe Pan was just trying to psyche you out?”

It’s strange watching Juliet and her father debate over him, especially considering that it’s not about his and Juliet’s romantic relationship. Even worse, they’re arguing about him as if he’s not really there, which causes Gideon to bristle. Not that he can do anything about that right now, because he’s fairly certain that fighting back would not work out in his favor. 

“She’s right, you know,” Neal cuts in. Both Gideon and Juliet turn to gape at Neal, and even Gideon feels surprised at the interjection. He feels a surge of affection -- could it be brotherly pride? “His girlfriend and I ended up back in the cave, which forced us to reveal all kinds of secrets to one another. The poison thing with Pan sounds like another trick of his. He probably knew you were watching. You of all people should know that.”

“I also know to better be safe than sorry, meaning the cave will be our best bet,” Hook argues, though he appears somewhat chastened by Neal’s interruption. Gideon wonders about the history there. He knows Hook knew Neal before all of this. In fact, Juliet’s father had shared many stories of Neal as a teen over the years. How is that affecting the conversation they are having now. 

“His girlfriend and I just spent some time spilling our guts to one another. If you’re worried about Shakespeare over there betraying us all,  _ don’t.  _ Besides, there’s no way to know that his deepest secret will even tell you if he was intending to kill you. It could be something else” Neal explains. Gideon glances back to Hook who is silently considering his word. “Look, man, if you don’t trust them, trust me. After everything, you owe me that much.”

Hook’s expression turns shamefaced, and Gideon knows that his brother went for a below the belt punch. “Bae…”

“My son is out there. I wouldn’t be trusting them if I didn’t have good reason,” Neal explains. “I have far more to lose in this situation than you.”

  
After what seems like an eternity of silence, Hook relents. “Then we best be getting back to camp. The others will likely be worried.”

Hook turns, his coat whirling dramatically behind him as they march back into the jungle. Neal pushes past them, and he casts a significant look over his shoulder and saws, “You owe me.”   
  
And they do. How much yet, Gideon isn’t sure. 

  
  



	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the delay in this chapter. As it stands, life has been insane, and when it hasn't, the words just haven't come. Rest assured, I promise I haven't given up on the story. In fact, I have a few half-written prequel one-shots to further flesh out Juliet, Gideon, and their lives prior to falling through a time portal. I hope you enjoy this chapter, and please note, this is a CS story. It will have a CS ending.

Emma wakes.

She blinks, adjusting her eyes to darkness of the camp. The fire has slowed and is now down to embers. As a result, the night air is cool, and Emma rubs her hands over her bare arms in an attempt at more warmth. Her sleep-fogged mind struggles to remember who had been assigned to keep watch, finally recalling that Hook had been the one to volunteer. She glances around in search of the pirate, thinking he had accidentally fallen asleep, despite how out-of-character the action might be. But he’s nowhere to be found.    
  
Ignoring the pang of worry in her chest, she tries to think of more logical reasons for his disappearance. But then her eyes fall on where Romeo had set up camp, finding it also empty. Now more alert and with her heart pounding in her chest, Emma pushes herself up and begins to stalk around the camp. By the dying light of the fire, she is unable to make out much, but she knows she would have been woken by a scuffle if anything had happened here, which means that something coaxed them away. 

“Hook?” Emma half-whispers, hoping that she’s wrong, and that he’s hiding in the bushes. But no one answers, and Emma is left feeling alone.    
  
Three people are missing. First Juliet, and now Hook and Romeo. She feels a sting of anger at Hook for not warning her that Pan could apparently whisk away people in the dark of the night, and is annoyed that he likely allowed himself to be caught. For all of his cautionary tales about Neverland, he shouldn’t be the missing one. He knows better. He is better.    
  
Did something happen to Romeo that caused Hook to chase after him? If so, why wouldn’t he have woken the group? Emma glances over to her parents and then over to Regina, all still asleep. Surely they wouldn’t have continued resting if Hook had alerted them that he was leaving, would they?   
  
Emma walks over to where her parents had set up their bedrolls, and kneels down to shake her father awake.

“David, wake up. Hook’s gone,” she says as her father begins to stir. The movement also arouses her mother, and both Snow and Charming slowly reach wakefulness.

“What do you mean?” David asks. He rubs his hand over his face as he sits up. “Gone?”

“He’s not here. Neither is Romeo. Something’s wrong,” Emma goes on to explain, continuing to keep her voice low. She’s not sure if Pan might be listening.   
  
“Maybe they’re using the bathroom,” her mother suggests blearily. 

“Together?”  
  
“Buddy system?” David proposes, but Emma can tell by the tone of his voice that he doesn’t quite believe it.    
  
Dread creeps up her spine as she wonders if they might be sitting ducks. What might Pan be thinking?

_ Three down, four more to go.  _

  
-/-   
  
Once the adrenaline wears off, exhaustion takes over.    
  
Gideon’s presence to her side anchors her, keeping her upright and moving forward. He hasn’t let go of her hand since they began their journey back to camp, and Juliet is grateful. Not only for the stability, but for the emotional tether. The last time they had been together, they had been fighting. She knows she should apologize for her role in their earlier disagreement, but holds her tongue until they can find more time alone. Not that she expects them to get that anytime soon.

Her father and Neal press ahead of them. Her father keeps inquiring after Neal, and there’s a touch of parental concern in the way he watches over the other man. Try as she might, she’s unable to ignore the stab of jealousy as she wishes her father’s younger self would look over her that way. He hasn’t even asked how she’s feeling. Instead, he’s looked upon her with disinterest (at best) and mild disdain (at worst).    
  
She misses her father desperately in this moment. He’s always had a bit of a protective streak with her, something that Juliet considered vaguely annoying for much of her adolescence. But when now faced with the man who treats her like a perfect stranger -- and to him, in this time period, she is -- she finds herself longing for those days where he would lecture her on safety or dote on her after a rough day. From behind, she can almost pretend the man in front of her is still him. His hair is not streaked with gray and he’s wearing the overlarge pirate coat she used to steal when she’d play, but his gait is the same, as is his voice. Those will have to be enough.    
  
Juliet vows that when she gets home that she’ll hug him, her mother, as well. She’s always had a pleasant relationship with her parents. They had their disagreements growing up, sure, but those were the normal things parents and their children fought over: missing curfews, chores, underage drinking, and embarrassing parent things. But here in Neverland, things are complicated, and she worries whatever goodwill she had developed with this version of her parents has evaporated into the muggy air. 

In short: it sucks. 

“Are you also hating every second this?” she asks Gideon in a low voice. Her father and Neal are discussing something to do with Pan and Henry, but she doesn’t want them listening in to their conversation if she can help it.

“Well, I have the woman I love in my arms now, which I didn’t have an hour ago, so I’m doing marginally better than I was before.”

“Wow, that’s smooth.”

“I’m a smooth man.”

“More like a total dork.”

“But I’m your dork.” He gives her a wide smile that doesn’t quite meet his eyes. Gideon glances up ahead, his gaze falling to Hook and Neal. “So, Neal…”

“He’s charming and has the uncanny ability to make me want to strangle him, but he’s not the worst,” Juliet answers. She keeps her tone light, knowing this is something her cares about. She’d been oblivious to Gideon’s feelings surrounding his brother before, and she refuses to make that same mistake again. “FYI, he knows about things, and, uh, you. So you can do some legitimate bonding, if you want.”   
  
Gideon sighs deeply, but he doesn’t sounds upset. “I take it that’s how you got out of the cave then?”

“Unfortunately,” she answers. “He took finding out where we come from surprisingly well, but kinda fell apart when he found out what happens to him.”

Gideon’s brows raise practically his hairline. “You told him  _ that _ ?”

“It was the only way to get out of the stupid cave,” she hisses in response. “It was either him or them,” she gestures wildly, indicating her family, “I know I probably screwed up the timeline, but,” she lowers her voice even more, “my parents had already kissed by that point. It’s all about confessing things, and I dunno, it was the kiss that changed things between them. Not that.”

Gideon stills next to her. She nearly trips, his hold on her hand tight as she attempts to move forward only to be suddenly jerked back. His expression is pained. “What’s wrong?”

He sighs deeply, and moves so that they’re facing one another. He runs his hands up and down her arms, a soothing gesture he often does when he knows she’s stressed.

“You know how when your parents went back in time they...altered things?”

“Yeah…” Juliet’s heard this story many times before, how her parents had prevented her grandparents from meeting, nearly erasing her mother from existence. But Juliet’s parents already know each other at this point. They’ve met! They’re going to fall in love, fight villains, get married, fight some more villains, and have her. She shakes her head. “This isn’t the same thing.”

Gideon raises a brow. “Could be.”

“I told you, I really don’t the think the cave is that important in --”

“I’m not talking about the cave, J,” he tells her, his voice serious. He takes a deep breath. “I’m fairly certain that there was no kiss.”

“I’m pretty sure there was,” Juliet replies with a small laugh. He has to be mistaken. Her parents have totally kissed. Definitely. They had to have kissed. Right? But despite her protestations,Gideon’s expression remains grim, and her stomach drops. “Gideon, they had to have kissed.”

“We’ll fix it. I promise,” he swears. He drops his hands to hers and squeezes them tightly. “They’re your parents remember. True love conquers all, remember?”

Juliet turns away from him, her head spinning. She knows the domino effect this could have. Her parents don’t kiss. They don’t get together. They don’t become Dark Ones. They don’t get married. They don’t have her. She hugs herself tightly. She’s still present, corporeal and real. That has to mean something, doesn’t it? They still have time to fix things. 

“Is everything okay back there?”

Juliet looks toward her father and Neal. Neal is eyeing her with concern, but her father stands tall, his hand on the hilt of her sword watching her with suspicion. She wants him to reach out and hug her, to tell her it’s going to be okay like he’s done so many times over the past few years. He won’t. Instead of answer, she turns to the side and vomits.

-/-

“You can’t go looking for them!” Regina’s voice rings out across the camp. Emma crosses her arms across her chest at the scolding nature of the former Evil Queen’s tone. “This is exactly what Pan wants us to do. It’s distracting us from saving our son, which I remind you, is our number one priority.”

“I know Henry is our priority,” Emma grits out. As if she could forget. She’s surprised she can even breathe with him missing, knowing he’s in the clutches of a psychotic denom. “But we can’t save him if everyone else keeps getting picked of one by one.”

Regina raises her hands heavenward. “How do we even know people are being picked off? Because Romeo, Juliet, and Captain Hook are the ones missing?”

There’s something in Regina’s tone that gives Emma pause, an underlying implication that she doesn’t want to be true. “What does that even mean?”

Regina rolls her eyes. “You aren’t that dense, Emma. It means that the pirate and his star-crossed lovers --  _ if that’s even who they are _ \-- could be working for Pan.”

“You can’t be serious,” Emma argues, but she doesn’t miss how she’s the only one that does, her parents averting their eyes. 

“Emma, he did betray us before. Not just with the bean, but also back in the Enchanted Forest,” her mother adds, and for a moment it feels like a punch to the gut and Emma doesn’t know why. Her mother is right -- he did betray them. But he also turned around. He came back, and that has to mean something. 

“And he was there when Romeo and Juliet showed up unexpectedly,” her father adds. At both Mary Margaret and David’s signs of support, Regina casts a significant look towards Emma, one that screams victory. “For all we know, they could have coordinated it.”

Emma shakes her head. Though she’s unwilling to analyze why she’s so vehemently defending Hook, she’s positive that he’s not working for Pan and that he’s unrelated to whatever pulled Romeo and Juliet from the portal. She knows there’s a stack of coincidences that sound suspect when placed together, but she knows her instincts. She’d allowed others’ opinions to influence her to second guess herself before, but she’d been right then. Just as she knows she’s right about Hook. Emma might not yet know the reason by his disappearance, but it’s not because he’s in league with Pan. He can’t be. 

“I’ve already told you, Romeo and Juliet aren’t villains.” She doesn’t say Hook, even if the words are on the tip of her tongue, because even she’s not sure sure she would believe it. Emma’s not even sure why she’s defending Hook so much, because out of everyone, she knows what it’s like to believe one thing about a person, and then turn around and have them stab you in the back. “You all believed me then.”

Guilt flashes across her mother’s face, and her father averts his eyes. For the first time, Emma wonders if they ever actually believed her, and had just been playing along. 

“We did-- we do,” Mary Margaret stresses, her voice pleading. “We’re just look at all of options to figure out why people are missing. You’re right. Something might have happened to them, but Regina’s not wrong that something nefarious can also be going on.”

Emma opens her mouth to speak, to say what, she’s not entirely sure. But then she hears the snap of a branch in the jungle, and the distinct noise of a group of people moving through the foliage. Everyone moves quickly. Regina raises a fireball, while Mary Margaret scrambles for her bow. Both Emma and her father draw their swords. 

“Who’s there?” Emma shouts. She braces herself, and exchanges a wary glance with Regina. At least she can count on Henry’s other mother to pack a powerful punch with her flames. 

“Simmer down, Swan, it’s just us.”

A wave of relief washes over her at the familiar lilting accent. However, she doesn’t let down her guard completely, Regina’s implications lingering still in the back of her mind. She feels a niggling bit of guilt at that, but she tells herself that her caution is for Henry. Hook will understand, especially since he doesn’t sound to be alone. She thinks Romeo might be with him, but judging by the commotion that’s being made, she suspects there’s more. 

“Define ‘us’,” David calls, as if he’s reading her mind. 

Hook steps into view, his hand and hook raised, his eyebrow raised in mock defiance. Despite his gesture, he carries himself with a certain amount of swagger that makes Emma want to roll her eyes. She’s pretty sure her father actually does. Following him close behind is Romeo  _ and _ Juliet, the former’s arm wrapped around the waist of his girlfriend. She doesn’t look physically harmed, though still worse for wear -- her clothes dirtied and blonde hair a riotous mess. 

“So you went on a rescue mission, huh?”

“I saved myself,” Juliet argues with a half-hearted glare. Emma watches the way Romeo glances down at Juliet, his lips curling upward, adoration and amusement both evident on his face. He looks at Juliet the way her father looks at her mother, or the same way she see Gold sometimes looking at Belle. The way no one has looked at her.  _ He really loves her,  _ she thinks. 

Emma is too caught up by the couple in front of her to really notice when someone appears behind them, only registers her mother’s soft gasp and then --

\--she’s seventeen again, her world upended on a dime. Neal stands sheepishly before her, alive and breathing. She hears her father ask “how?” but everything’s fuzzy as Neal gives a quick explanation. It’s almost as if she’s surrounded by TV static, like she’s drowning and everyone is far, far away. But drowning in what? Happiness, hurt, fear, anger.

She wants to hug him, part of her glad he’s alive. She wants to shout  _ “but you should be dead” _ , because she wanted him to be. Between Henry being taken, fighting a villain, and the whole complicated mess that is her family, she can’t handle the sudden reappearance of Neal and the resulting complication emotions that plague her whenever he is around. 

Which is why things turn worse a moment later, because nothing about the past few days, weeks, or even year can come easy. Not for her. Because the next thing Emma knows is that Neal is moving across the camp and pulling her into a kiss. 


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully it won't take another 5 months to write a chapter. But here it is!

Over the years, Emma has imagined kissing Neal again. How could she not? He’d been her first love, and everything between them had felt so unfinished. She’d never truly found closure -- still hasn’t, if she’s honest with herself -- so, she’d find herself fantasizing. Fantasizing about kissing him, about raising Henry together, about all the things they couldn’t have because he betrayed her. 

He  _ left _ her. 

Maybe that’s why, when he kisses her for the first time, she doesn’t pull away immediately. Maybe that’s why she doesn’t introduce him to her right hook -- she thinks, vaguely, that Killian might be amused by the pun. Instead, she stands frozen as his lips mold to hers. There’s a part of her that thinks this kiss might be something out of a fairytale. It’s the same part of that’s still seventeen, and hoping against hope that something went wrong, and that Neal didn’t let her take the fall for the watches. 

But here’s the thing: Emma Swan isn’t seventeen anymore. She’s twenty-nine, with over a decade of pain and baggage under her belt. And there’s more than just that, the anger and resentment, there’s --

_ “Stop it!” _

Neal jerks away suddenly at Juliet’s cry, and Emma does her best to ignore the wave of relief crashing over her as she draws her attention to the young woman who had previously been missing. Juliet stares at them, wearing an expression that can only be described as betrayal. It’s only then that Emma remembers that she’s in a crowd, and embarrassment floods her. Juliet must notice it too, because her cheeks turn a bright pink as she begins to stammer, “You, um, you can’t just grab people and kiss them.”

“It’s basic consent,” Romeo chimes in, and Emma wonders if she’s suddenly been transported into some after-school PSA about healthy relationship dynamics. Not that it would be any stranger than being in Neverland. 

Neal raises his hands in supplication, “Hey, I didn’t mean it that--"

“You know, Juliet is right,” Emma hears her father cut in from somewhere behind her. She wonders if the ground might swallow her whole. She doesn’t want to deal with the overprotective father bit at the moment, especially since she is an adult who didn’t even want to be kissing Neal in the first place. 

“More to the point, we have more important things to worry about than... _ that, _ ” Regina adds, her voice dripping with barely concealed venom as she levels a dark glare toward both she and Neal. Emma feels a bubble of anger, even after Regina crosses her arms, and redirects her attention toward Juliet. “Where were you?”

_ Good question _ , Emma thinks. They had spent the past day or so worrying about Juliet, and suddenly she appears unharmed, Hook, Romeo, and Neal in tow. It’s suspect, especially since Neal is supposed to be dead.  _ He should be dead. I watched him die.  _

“Kidnapped by Pan. We both were,” she gestures toward Neal. Juliet then looks back up to Gideon. “And these two were were attempting to find us. Keyword being attempting, because we got out just fine.”

“I wouldn’t say _ just _ fine,” Neal cuts in. 

Juliet glares. “We’re not dead  _ yet _ , are we?”

Though Emma appreciates Juliet’s spunk -- she’s never been a fan of the damsel-in-distress thing, herself -- Emma can’t help but notice something strange about the way Juliet and Neal are speaking. Almost as if they talking around one another, judging by their use of emphasis on words. 

“So how did you escape?”

“We traded secrets,” Juliet shrugs.  _ Ah _ ,  _ secrets _ , Emma thinks,  _ this is probably why they sounded weird.   _ “There’s a cave, and its whole schtick is secrets. We shared secrets, so we were able to leave.”

“And what secrets did you share?” It’s Regina who asks this, one perfectly manicured eyebrow raised. Her gaze is intense, and Emma is thankful she’s not the one on the receiving end -- for once.

“It’s a secret. You can’t share secrets,” Juliet says, surprisingly defiant.

“This isn’t some middle school slumber party, this is--”

“My secret was that I would rather my mother have been killed by pirates than have her abandon me, and hers is that she’s having second thoughts about her relationship with her boyfriend,” Neal cuts in. Juliet’s jaw drops, and her gaze darts to Romeo. 

“Babe, I--”

“Secrets, right?” Romeo disentangles his hand from her, and moves a step away. For moment, Juliet looks as if she might cry, and Emma once again finds herself wishing she were anywhere but here. She tears her gaze away from the couple, only to find Hook. His expression is stony, but there’s a certain sadness in his eyes. She’s about to wonder why, until she recalls Neal’s half of his confession. 

_ “I would rather my mother have been killed by pirates than have her abandon me.” _

She knows Killian wouldn’t have made the same trade. She wants to say something, she isn’t sure of what. David steps in before she can find words.

“That takes a lot of courage to admit,” he says, reminding Emma why some take the Prince Charming moniker at literally. A glance over to Romeo and Juliet makes Emma think that they would rather Neal be a coward. Hook likely feels the same way, too. “So, I take it after leaving the cave, you met up with Hook and Romeo?” David’s expression turns sour. “Thanks for telling us you were leaving, by the way. We really appreciate it.”   
  
Hook lets out a broken laugh. “Believe me, if I thought I had the time, I would have. Our star-crossed lover over here was quite eager to find his lady love.”

“Something could have happened to you.”

“Why, Dave, I didn’t know you cared.” Hook adopts stance that Emma can only describe as ‘cocky asshole’. 

“I don’t. I just prefer to be aware. You’re the one who’s always going on about how dangerous this island is. You could have died, and we wouldn’t have known.”

“Oh, I’m sure Pan would have flaunted my head on spike sooner or later, but I appreciate your concern.”

“Excuse me, do I need to take out a measuring tape so you two can finish comparing sizes, or should we get to the matter at hand. Your squabbles are--”

“Can we please not talk about comparing sizes?” Emma overhears Juliet whisper in response to Regina’s admonishment, and she can’t help but agree with the young woman. 

“--doing nothing to help us find my son.”

“ _ Our _ son,” Emma emphasizes, because even if she can’t control Neal or anything else in this fucked up situation, she can control this. No matter what, she still Henry’s mother.

“Right.” Regina only manages to look somewhat annoyed.

“And we do have the upper hand on Pan,” Neal adds. “I doubt he thinks all of us would end up together as quickly as he did.”

“Neal’s right. It’s likely the demon wasn’t preparing us to progress so quickly.” Hook casts a dark look toward Romeo. “As it stands, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’ll appear quite vexed to find his plans foiled.”

“I don’t care about how vexed he is. I care about saving Henry,” Emma tells him. The idea of Henry being trapped by an irate Pan makes her sick. 

“And we will, Swan. Of that I have no doubt.” Hook stares at her meaningfully, and Emma realizes that he actually means it. He honestly doesn’t have any doubt in their ability to rescue Henry. She avoids dwelling on why that means so much. 

“Thank you.”    
  
“As heartwarming as that was to witness, it’s still not a plan.”  
  
So they plan. 

Or, at least, attempt to plan. They settle the outline of something -- capturing Pan’s shadow, and it’s Regina who offers to go off and find Gold, much to Neal’s relief -- with minimal debates. But by the time they have half of the plan settled, everyone is exhausted. The lack of sleep weighs heavily on everyone, adrenaline only carrying them so far. Juliet had been the first to turn in, retreating to her makeshift bedroll before any plan had been settled upon. However, considering the circumstance of her recent capture, no one brooked argument. Not even Romeo, who had kept his careful distance from her, still apparently spurned by the Neal’s reveal of her secret. But when they all settle for what’s left of the night, Emma still notices that he retreats to sleep near Juliet, albeit at an arm’s length of a distance. 

It would be easy, Emma thinks, to fault Juliet for having second thoughts about Romeo. After all, everyone here had recently witnessed the level of Romeo’s dedication to the woman he loved. How could anyone have second thoughts about someone so devoted? But Emma reminds herself that she doesn’t know Juliet or Romeo that well. They had been in a fight earlier. And for all she knows, Romeo might have done something unforgivable in the past. And if Juliet is having second thoughts about that, can anyone blame her? Some transgressions just can’t be forgiven or forgotten, not matter how much the other party wants them to be.    
  
As Emma settles once again in her own bedroll, she hates herself for finding the couple’s relationship woes a welcome distraction. It’s much easier to focus on theirs than hers, and analyzing their dynamic keeps her from thinking about all the terrible things that could be happening to Henry. Regardless of the questions she has, Emma can’t help but find herself still rooting for the couple, which is something she can’t say about Neal.

 

-/-

 

Everything is slower in the morning. Gideon can feel the weight of the restless night in every aching muscle. He knows he ought to move up from the ground and his makeshift bedroll, but after an extended period of being separated from Juliet, he revels in the warm press of her body against his and the way she buries herself into his chest. Despite falling asleep separately in an effort to keep up the ruse of quarrelling lovers, they had gravitated toward one another in the night. Even though it doesn’t aid their cover, he doesn’t fight it. Her soft, even breaths tell him that she’s asleep, and he doesn’t relish the idea of waking her. She had gotten just as little rest as he had, maybe less.  _ She needs this _ , he thinks as presses a soft kiss to the crown of her head.

It’s still early yet, but Gideon can hear the slight stirring of the members of the camp -- another reason for him to feign sleep. As much as Gideon appreciates Neal’s quick thinking at concocting secrets, he still feels uneasy around the man, mostly because he hadn’t been prepared to see Neal at all. He’d known it was an inevitability, but Juliet’s disappearance had made him briefly forget that the brother he’d never met was here. Knowing that Neal also knew of his identity only elevates the dread. He doesn’t have the cover of pretending to be a stranger to talk to the man. Neal knows that Gideon is his younger brother, and all interactions going forward would be that of brothers.

Neal can no longer be an abstract concept to him. This is his opportunity to get to know his brother as a man -- his traits, his personality -- and not just the sketches that his father, Henry, and Emma had drawn with their stories of him. And, in turn, this is his chance for his brother to get to know him, Gideon Gold. 

It’s terrifying.

And it’s made all the worse by knowing their motivations for whatever happens in Neverland are in direct opposition. 

They both want to save Henry, sure, but Neal is approaching from the perspective of a worried father, whereas Gideon -- though he loves Henry --  just wants the situation to play out how it’s supposed to. His brother’s earlier display, however, highlights something else: Neal wants to rekindle his relationship with Emma, something that Gideon absolutely cannot allow to happen. 

Gideon’s well aware of the tropes that appear in TV and movies. Falling for the older sibling’s significant other has been a plot played out at least a hundred times, but Gideon doubts any media has covered what happens when you fall for the daughter of the older sibling you’ve never met, and whose existence depends on your brother staying very far away. 

The running joke in his and Juliet’s relationship, and their ability to vaguely play the parts they’re playing now, has hinged on their fathers’ mutual history of hostility. Neal had been an non-issue, except when Henry had expressed his own personal discomfort with his “uncle” dating his “baby sister”. But now Neal very much is an issue, and Gideon can’t help but feel as if he, himself, is a roadblock standing in front of his brother’s happiness -- a complication he never once considered.

“If you squeeze any tighter, I’m pretty sure you’re gonna break my ribs.” Juliet’s voice is soft, a whisper into his shirt that he knows no one can overhear. 

“Sorry,” he mumbles into her hair. He loosens his grip slightly, but doesn’t make any further movements to untangle themselves, continuing his own game of pretend. “You rest any?”

“Not really,” she tells him. “Stressed.” 

“Yeah.” Gideon wants nothing more than to stay ensconced like this in their small bubble of warmth, but he knows they can’t, not with what’s at stake. He wishes they were at home, cuddled under the massive blankets that Juliet insists on sleeping under. That would mean they were safe. They would be home. “We’re kinda fucked right now.”

“‘Kinda’ is an understatement.” She tightens her own hold on him. “But, I’m still here, so we’re not totally fucked.”

“No, instead you’re having second thoughts about me.”

“Yeah, only so we can have a fight and get to the makeup sex later.” He feels her grin against his chest, and it takes everything in him to hold back a laugh. 

“Later being when we get home, because I cannot imagine anything happening here with everyone around.”

“Oh God, don’t put that picture in my head. The library was bad enough.” This time, it’s Juliet that has to suppress her giggles. She sobers quickly enough. “You know I have no second thoughts, right? About you and me?”

“I know.” He’d been afraid his reaction around the others had been too much, but it would have been unnatural had he done nothing. Juliet had thankfully caught on, but pretending to fight had been unpleasant. 

“I’m glad Neal had our backs.”

“Mmmhm.”

“You’re going to have to talk to him about why...and, you know, to not kiss Emma.” He’s too busy not wanting to think any more about Neal that he completely misses the first part of Juliet’s sentence.

“Wait, me? Why me?”

“Because no matter how weird things with my brother, it’d still kill me if I never talked to him. And I think he wants to talk to you. So, talk,” Juliet whispers as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world. And maybe it is,but he’s unwilling to admit it right now due the absolute weight of the conversation he knows will come.Besides, talking to Neal will mean letting go of Juliet and putting on yet another act of pretending to be mad at her. That, too, is an unfavorable next action.

“When I’m with Neal, what are you going to do?”

“Get my parents together, of course.”

 


	13. Chapter 13

Her plan needs an operation name. 

Plans with operation names tend to be more successful -- at least, that’s what the storybooks have told her. Operation: Cobra. Operation: Mongoose. Operation: Light Swan. Operation: Whatever Random Animal Comes to Mind. Operation names had always been Henry’s forte, but since Juliet had long ago made it her own form of rebellion to be the opposite of Henry in a number of ways, she finds herself lacking in the whole “naming operations” department. 

Most pressing, however, is that Juliet’s plan needs to actually exist outside of the vague conceptualization of “let’s hook -- pun only kinda intended -- my parents up.” That’s the end goal, right alongside “don’t die” and “get back to the correct point in time.” Though, Juliet reasons, if she fails at part one -- the aforementioned hooking up of her parents -- then she’ll just fade from existence, technically not dying. 

After all, she can’t really die if she never existed in the first place. 

_ How comforting.  _

All of this weighs heavily on her mind, but instead she focuses on naming the whole damn sort-of plan because that feels the least daunting. She needs a win right now, and naming her operation will be it. Only what will it be? She doesn’t know. Henry is the poetic one in the family, stronger with metaphors and fun naming conventions. Juliet’s creativity comes in the form of art and photos. She’s visual, and unfortunately, operation names are not that.    
  
“Operation: Anything having to do with a Swan” feels a little too on the nose. 

“Operation: Kittens” sounds a bit too cute for a  life or non-existence scenario, no matter how much she likes kittens. 

She’s still mulling over a name when she notices her father approaching her, coconut in hand.  _ Operation: Coconut, it is _ . The operation name might not be an animal, but she doesn’t totally have to follow in Henry’s footsteps, pleasing her inner rebellious teen. And despite hating coconut water -- a fact this version of her father apparently doesn’t know -- seeing him with something in hand clearly for her makes her smile, and that’s enough.

“Hi there.”

“Morning.” He holds out the coconut, which she takes gratefully. She can power through pretending to drink coconut water if it means spending more time with him. She misses him -- the version of him she knows and loves -- terribly. “I know that Emma mentioned you weren’t fond of coconuts, but you need sustenance for what’s coming.” 

She stares up at him, blinking in confusion, until she realizes that he’s referencing their plan to steal Pan’s shadow. Everything from the previous night is somewhat fuzzy. Try as she might to stay awake, Juliet had found herself dozing when the others had begun discussing the next steps toward successfully saving Henry. She thinks the plan they concocted involved something to do with using her and Emma’s magic, and she resolves to better inquire about the plan some more.    
  
At the moment, however, she’s more interesting in the first half of her father’s statement.  _ Emma mentioned _ that Juliet didn’t like coconuts. That means that they had talked about her, a fact that ignites a small bit of hope. “You guys talk about me?”

“When it’s relevant, yes.”

“What makes it relevant?”

“When you get kidnapped by Pan.” 

“Oh, that.” It makes sense. Dimly, she wonders what it was like when she disappeared. She knows that Gideon hadn’t reacted well -- that much she could tell from the way he had refused to let go of hand as they trekked back to camp. But the others? She isn’t sure. Up until now, her father’s past self had acted indifferent since he had found her and Neal outside of Echo Cave. Did he care when she had gone missing? Juliet isn’t sure she wants to know the answer. 

“Aye, that.” He glances over the part of camp where Gideon is speaking in a low voice to Neal. She wonders what they’re saying. Her father turns back to her, and scratches behind his ear. It’s an action she’s seen plenty over the course of her life, one that indicates that he’s particularly nervous about whatever he plans to say next. “Listen, love, Pan is a monster. He enjoys both sowing discord and hurting people.”

“I kind of figured that part out when he had his crew kidnap me. And when he attempted to proposition my boyfriend into killing everyone -- which he wasn’t going to do, by the way.” Juliet makes a point of stressing that Gideon wasn’t going to hurt them. Recalling his hesitance outside of Echo Cave, she isn’t positive that her father truly believes her, but it’s worth a shot. She knows that Hook doesn’t actually have a reason to trust Gideon at this juncture, but she still finds her father’s attitude unfair and feels the desire to defend the man she loves. “Pan probably knew you were lurking in the bushes, anyway. He wanted you to think that...that Romeo was was the bad guy, making you not trust him. Sort of like how everyone here doesn’t trust you, even though you’re one of the good guys.

“I’m no hero,” he says with a false sort of laugh. He rights himself quickly enough, and once again runs his fingers through his hair. “At any rate, his stunt at Echo Cave was one such example of that.”

“Neal and I got ourselves out of it.” By revealing way too much information, but he doesn’t need to know that.

“Aye, but not without a few bruises, it seems.” He casts another significant glance over his shoulder toward Gideon. For a moment, Juliet struggles to recall just what he’s referencing. Then she remembers Neal’s cover.

As grateful as she is for Neal’s quick thinking, she’s not fond with his particular choice of lie. It had been clever and believable, especially since she’s pretending to be someone that ran away from her family for a man, but she doesn’t like that Gideon is now forced to feign anger and hurt in regards to their relationship. 

Her father looks like he’s about to say something else, but he’s cut off by Neal announcing, “Hey, Romeo and I are going to get some water. When we get back, we can leave to get the shadow.”

Juliet doesn’t pay attention to Regina’s argument in response, but instead focuses on Gideon and his resolute expression. He takes a deep breath before following behind Neal and disappearing into the jungle. She’s curious about how the conversation will play out, halfway worried about the effect that it might have on Gideon, but mostly glad he gets the chance to spend time with Neal. 

“He loves you.” 

Hook’s voice pulls her attention. She wonders now what he would say to her if she actually did come to him with her non-existent worries about whether she and Gideon were moving too fast. Romantic relationship advice had always been more of her mother’s forte. It wasn’t that her father was bad at it, but Juliet had always felt more comfortable turning to her mother -- probably the gender thing. Regardless of who she went to first for advice, her father had always provided a shoulder to cry on when needed. Of course, now that she actually needs his shoulder to cry on, he’s not the same man. 

  
“Did you really come over here to discuss my love life?”

“No, I didn’t. I came over to ensure your safety.” He continues to stand over her, a large, looming figure covered in black. “However, I did spend an extended period around him. He was driven mad with worry after he realized you disappeared.”

“He’s that kind of guy.” She sits the coconut down and pokes at the ground. She doesn’t want dwell on the effects that her kidnapping had on her boyfriend. She might have been the primary victim in the situation, but her loved one had also been unfairly hurt in the process. As angry as she already had been with Pan, she feels it double in her chest. She’s come to realize exactly why her father had always referred to Peter Pan as a demon. 

“Aye, he is.” Her father fixes her with an intense stare. “He seems like the sort of man who would understand if you had reservations regarding your relationship.”

Had this conversation taken place thirty years in his future, Juliet might find his concern to be sweet. Instead, she feels a bubble of guilt forming in her gut at the slight worry in his eyes. She loathes the protracted lies she and Gideon have needed to weave to maintain their covers. She’s uncomfortable lying to her parents in this manner. Though she’s told her fair share of lies to them in the past -- what kid hasn’t lied to their parents every now and then? -- her actions now feel more insidious...and there’s nothing she can do about it except lie some more.

She looks away from her father, the loss of eye contact making her deceptions easier.  “We’ll figure it out. We always have.” She picks up the coconut. “Thanks for this, and checking on me, and discussing my love life even if that wasn’t your full intention.”

“Right.”    
  
Juliet thinks he might turn to leave, but he continues to stare at her carefully. “What? Is there something on my face?”

“I should have asked Swan to do this,” he murmured, casting his eyes skyward. He sighs deeply. “Love, did Pan or any of his crew touch you in any way…?”

“Touch me…?” It takes a moment for her to process. “ _ Oh my God. _ ”

Suddenly, she’s fifteen again, drunk off wine coolers and rum stolen from her parents’ liquor cabinet. Juliet remembers the night -- the “unofficial” cast party celebrating the closing of  the school’s production of  _ Legally Blonde: The Musical.  _ (She had been Elle, thank you very much.) Juliet had been reckless then, believing herself unbreakable and immortal in only the way teenagers can. Instead of crashing for the night in Susan Sparrow’s basement, she’d decided to walk home -- she only lived a mile away -- and sneak in through her bedroom window. 

_ “My dad’s the best pirate, so that means I’ve inherited the best sneaking skills. It’s a fact!” _

How she would sneak through her second-story bedroom window that night, Juliet didn’t have the opportunity to find out. Her father, by chance thanks to a night patrol, had found her emptying the contents of her stomach into Grumpy’s azaleas.  

Juliet remembers how he had ushered her into the back of the patrol car and driven her home.  She remembers his tight, but loving embrace when he carried back into their house, and tucked her into bed. And, she remembers the lecture she’d received the next day, just the two of them on the back porch swing. 

_ “I loathe that we live in a world that forces me to tell you these things, and I recognize what I’m saying places a burden on you that shouldn’t be yours, but sweetheart, you have to stay safe. I’m not saying don’t imbibe ever. I’d be a hypocrite if I tried. But the world -- and yes, even Storybrooke -- is not a kind place, and it is full of people who enjoy preying on the vulnerable, and inebriation makes us more vulnerable.” _

_ “Dad--” _

_ “When I was just a pirate, I saw terrible men do awful things, and overheard the most sordid of tales. While laying with a consenting woman was always policy on my ship, it was not like that for everyone. And last night, when I found you sick and alone, I was reminded of those men.” _

_ “But nothing happened!” _

_ “And I want nothing to ever happen. The prospect of it, even thinking that -- Juliet, promise me that if you are ever in a situation like that again, you will call someone. Your mother or I, Henry, your grandparents, or even Neal. It doesn’t even have to be family. It can be a trusted and sober friend. Don’t get behind the wheel yourself, or try to wonder home disoriented. We will find you.” _

He’d been so concerned then. As much as it embarrasses her now, Juliet had written off his concern as parental paranoia. He’d always had an overprotective streak, the result of his own past trauma. It hadn’t been until she’d grown older and lived a life outside of the protective watch of her parents that she truly began to understand her father’s warnings. 

But the man standing before her now isn’t her father -- not yet, anyway. His concern for her isn’t paternal, but it’s still there. As starved as she had been for his attention the previous night, she’s grateful for whatever care he can muster -- even if the delivery lacks his normal affection. At least this way she can pretend that the man before her is the Killian Jones she knows and loves.

She’s happy when she finally doesn’t have to lie. “Nothing happened. I promise.”

He smiles, the relief evident. “Good.”

 

-/-

 

“So...what do you think of Neverland?” 

Small talk has always been an enigma for Gideon. While working with patients, it comes naturally to him. He thinks it’s because he can hide behind the mask of the white coat, and that small talk helps his patients -- especially the kids -- relax. In social situations, however, he finds himself at a loss for words, stumbling over the dumbest of questions.

Like asking his brother what he thinks of the hell hole that is Neverland. 

But he has his reasons. Kind of. When Gideon had been younger, he’d asked his father about Neverland and Peter Pan. The concept of an island where no one ever ages had been appealing to him as a child. Truly, it sounded like an awfully big adventure. That had been the moment Gideon first learned that his grandfather was Peter Pan. His parents -- because his father, understandably, felt this was a story best told with his mother present -- had given him the sanitized version of the truth behind Neverland and Peter Pan. Henry and, later, Juliet’s father had given him the unsanitized version. Over the years, he had wondered what his brother’s adventures entailed, and now that Neal is here, Gideon has the opportunity to ask….even if it feels like a stupid question.

It probably is a stupid question, but it feels safe. The novelty of actually getting to know his brother hasn’t fully sunken in, not in the way that matters. Part of him feels as if he’s wasting the moment. Another part of him still wants to run away back to camp. The part of him that recognizes his running back empty-handed would be suspicious keeps him in place.

“I think I wasted way too much of my life here. So, it sucks.” Neal looks over his shoulder. “Please tell me you didn’t ask me to go get water with you so we could discuss Neverland.”

“Um, not really, no.” Gideon looks down at the ground, cheeks flushing red. He takes note of the vines and roots, making certain to not also trip. “J thought it would be good for us to have the chance to talk. You know, without others.”

“So your girlfriend made you drag me out here.”

“Pretty much, yeah.” Realizing how terrible that sounds, he continues, “It’s not that I didn’t want to without her pushing things along, it’s just a lot. It’s weird.”

“Because I’m dead in the future.”  He can’t see Neal’s face. His brother is continuing to push forward toward some pond -- they do have to come back with water, after all. But, Gideon can see the tenseness in his shoulders and hear the heaviness in Neal’s voice. It reminds him of his patients, the ones who had been given the worst medical news. And, in a way, Juliet had handed Neal his own death sentence.

“Something like that.” Gideon takes a deep breath. “I mean, have you ever spent your whole life wondering about someone, having all of these questions, and knowing you might never get answers? And now, suddenly, you an get answers and it feels...daunting.”

There’s a long pause before Neal answers. “Yeah, I get that. Guess it’d be like that if I met my mom again.”

Gideon winces at Neal’s response. “So you meant what you said back at camp? About your secret at Echo Cave?” 

“Something like that,” Neal parrots. He stops then, and turns to Gideon. Looking him in the eye, he says, “Just so you know, I was making that stuff up about what I said about your girlfriend. She never said anything about moving too fast.”

“Uh, yeah, I know.” 

“You didn’t act like it.”

“I thought it would blow our cover if I was too blase about it.” He shrugs, even though Neal doesn’t appear entirely convinced. “But thanks for your quick thinking. That was helpful.”

“I couldn’t exactly say your girlfriend said you were both from the future,” Neal replies. His expression then turns curious. “Speaking of covers, please tell me your name isn’t actually Romeo. I know Belle loves books, but --”

“It’s not. Just the first thing that came to mind.” Gideon refrains from mentioning that he’s half-convinced that he and Juliet are some incarnation of Shakespeare’s star-crossed lovers. Henry had mentioned once that Shakespeare had been an Author. “My name is actually Gideon.”

“Gideon Gold, huh?”

“Not all of us can be named Baelfire.” Neal barks out a laugh, and for a moment, Gideon feels a surge of pride. He’s able to make his brother laugh. “Mom’s the one who named me -- after a character from a book -- so you got that part right.”

“And about Belle, apparently.” There’s a twinkle in Neal’s eyes, and Gideon’s stomach immediately drops. He’s struck by how easy Neal had been able to weasel information about the future out of him. Sensing his panic, Neal raises his hands in supplication. “Hey, that part I had figured out since your girlfriend said you were my brother. The way my -- our -- father is with Belle, it wasn’t hard to put two-and-two together. Besides, you look a bit like her.”

Gideon breathes a sigh of relief. “Father says that’s a good thing.”

“Better to inherit her looks than the crocodile skin,” Neal says with a small laugh. “Look, we still need to get water. How about on the way, we talk about normal sibling things -- things that aren’t full of spoilers about the immediate future, so you can stop having a panic attack every time something comes up.”

Gideon cracks a smile.  “Sounds like a plan.” 

As they make their way toward the pond, Gideon and Neal trade questions. They start with small questions -- favorite colors, foods, and books -- but quickly the questions grow a bit deeper. Neal listens intently as Gideon shares horror stories from his medical residency and explains his motivations for choosing the medical profession. Neal, in turns, opens about about starting over in the Land Without Magic. By the time they reach the pond, they’re trading stories about living in New York. 

“I don’t know if it comforts me to know that the subway system is still a mess that far in the future,” Neal says, dismay evident from his tone to his face after Gideon recounts nearly missing his test in undergrad because he had been trapped in a stalled train.

“Look at it this way, the more things the change, the more they also stay the same. You can count on it like death and taxes.” Gideon immediately regrets his choice of words.  _ I am an idiot. _

“Some of us can count on death more easily than others.”

“I’m sorry you had to find out about that. I can’t imagine it’s easy knowing.”  Gideon fills his skein with water. “Juliet wouldn’t have told you if she didn’t have to. I’m pretty sure she feels bad about that.”

Neal scoffs. “Pretty sure?”

“We didn’t exactly have much time to discuss her specific feelings on the matter.” There’s something in Neal’s tone that sets Gideon on edge, but he doesn’t let it show. 

“From where I was sitting, she didn’t seem to like me too much.”

“She hardly knows you. Besides, she told me that she didn’t think you were the worst. She even called you charming,” Gideon answers. He feels the need to defend Juliet, even though Neal hasn’t said anything completely off-base. 

“She completely blew her gasket when I kissed Emma,” Neal says, and this time Gideon recognizes that his older brother is now hedging for clues about the future. 

“I think that’s an extreme read of the situation,” Gideon sighs deeply. He had known this area of conversation was unavoidable, insofar that Juliet had requested that he do whatever possible to discourage Neal from pursuing Emma. Gideon knows he needs to do this, but he hesitates. His conversation with his brother had been going so well, and now he’s going to ruin it all. 

“You know, for a brief moment, I thought she was my kid. Once I found out she was from the future, I thought that might be the reason she seemed so mad at me in the cave. I died and left her, and there was some lingering  resentment, and I hoped...” Neal rubs the back of his neck, and looks skyward. “Anyway, then she said you were my brother, and that killed that dream.”

“We’re not the Lannisters.” Their respective family trees might be convoluted, but they’re not blood related. Gideon shudders at the thought. Still...he can’t quite blame Neal from going down that mental path. Knowing his feelings for Emma, it only makes sense.

“Yeah, I hoped not,” Neal says with a broken sort of laugh. “But she’s related to Emma, right? She said her family was here, and she looks a lot like Emma.”

“I think we’re getting into spoiler territory.” 

“You know that’s basically confirming my suspicions, right?” Neal kicks a rock into the water. He doesn’t look at Gideon, and for that Gideon is grateful. “So what is she, like her sister? It seems pretty obvious Snow and Charming might want another kid. They don’t strike me as a one-and-done kind of pair.”

_ They’re not,  _ Gideon thinks.  _ They have another son. They named him after you. He’s a police officer, and lives in Storybrooke with his husband, and they’re in the process of adopting twins.  _ Of course, he can’t tell Neal any of that.

“Listen, Neal…” Gideon comes up short with what to say. He settles on, “You already know a lot about the future.”

“I’m honestly a little surprised the others haven’t noticed the resemblance.” 

“They’re not looking for one. People see what they want to see.”  _ Like how you think she’s Emma’s sister. _ He’d been worried about it, at first, believing that someone might note the similarities in appearance. No one has, and if they’ve thought about it, they’ve held their tongues. They don’t see them as Gideon Gold and Juliet Jones, but rather Romeo and Juliet from far off Verona. Juliet is just another pretty blonde in a sea of pretty blondes, just like how he’s another guy. They’re not looking for family resemblances in the way that Neal is. 

“Why’d she not want me kissing Emma anyway?”

“Because you and her didn’t happen back then, er, now. And we’ve changed enough already. We don’t want to wreck the timeline even more than we already have,” Gideon explains slowly. He wonders if this is what Neal had really be trying to get at when he started asking about Juliet. “So you can’t do that anymore. Kiss Emma, I mean.”

_ Goal: accomplished.  _

“How can you even know that?”

_ Or not. _

“You know how Henry has his fairytale book with everyone’s stories? There’s another book in the future where that includes this whole adventure, and a ton of stories that happened since Emma first arrive in Storybrooke,” Gideon huffs out. His frustration is growing.  _ Why can’t Neal understand? _ He feels like a villain, crushing the heart of his victim. “And you and Emma? You’re not in it, at least not as lovers, not since first left her way back when.”

“You love you girlfriend?” 

“What?” This is not the direction Gideon had expected the conversation to go. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“It’s a yes or no question. Do you love her?” Neal is once again facing him. Gideon takes in the hard set of his brother’s shoulders, the way his arms are crossed, and his knitted brows. Neal will not back down from this train of thought.

“Of course I love her.”

“How much?

“Really?”

“Humor me.”

Gideon casts his eyes skyward. This is not how he expected to be discussing his love life with his deceased brother. “I have a ring. Back home. I’m planning to propose soon. Going by that, I love her quite a bit.” He pauses, thinking of an earlier conversation. “She’s all my heart.”

Neal’s expression momentarily softens. “Wow, congrats. I hope she says yes.”

“Unsurprisingly, so do I.” He’s fairly certain that she will say ‘yes’. Their friends seem convinced of that fact. Her family, too. The aforementioned Neal Nolan, who acts more like Juliet’s closest friend and confidant than uncle, has even made Gideon promise to run by any proposal plans. _ “She’s going to agree to it no matter what, but you want the whole thing to be something she’ll remember, right?” _

“Okay, so you have this girl--”

“--woman--”

“--woman, fine, you get the point. You have this woman that you love. Now imagine finding out you’re going to die, that you’re going to lose absolutely everything, and you don’t know when or how, but it’s definitely going to happen -- and soon, by the sound of things. You can’t tell me that you won’t do everything possible to hold onto the person you love,” Neal pleads with him. And, in a way, he’s right. If the world ended tomorrow, he’d want nothing more than to spend it with Juliet in his arms. But--

“What do you think I’m trying to do?” Gideon doesn’t even try to hide the defeat in his voice. He doesn’t want to be having this conversation. What he wants is for Neal to not even pursue Emma, for them to just act like brothers-- whatever that means. What he wants for the weight of the future to be lifted from both their shoulders. What he wants it to not be the bad guy. He can’t always get what he wants. “Neal, I understand the future is terrifying, and I know you’re probably thinking about every single thing you regret--”

“You know? I don’t think you have any idea how I feel! I’m going to die, and you have a future with your girlfriend to run back to!”

“A future that might not even exist,” Gideon argues, his voice rising. He runs his fingers through his hair and takes a step back. “You’re the one who doesn’t get it. We didn’t even want to be here. We fell through a goddamn portal. J and I, we didn’t even try to, and we fucked things up. Things are bad right now, universe ending bad. So, while I might be sympathetic to your plight -- it fucking sucks -- it’s not high on my priority list.”

Neal blinks, clearly taken aback by Gideon’s outburst. “What are you even talking about?”

“Things that were supposed to happen didn’t end up happening, which set off a domino effect of preventing other things from happening, and we don’t know how to fix it.” His answer comes out in a half-sob, the weight of everything at stake finally taking over. 

“Could what you did hurt Henry? Emma?”

“Definitely.” 

“Then tell me how I can help.” Neal walks over and places his hand on Gideon’s shoulder. “If Emma and Henry’s future is really in danger, tell me what you two messed up, and I will help fix it.”

Gideon shakes his head. “We can’t. We already told you too much.”

“Look, I already know too much, and I’m a dead guy walking. And by the sound of things, you two are completely in over your head. You need help,” Neal insists. “You know I’m right.”

Gideon considers Neal’s offer. They need help. Desperately. But, “You’re not going to like what we have to do.”

“I kind of already figured that part out.”

Gideon suddenly wishes desperately for Hook’s flask of rum. Juliet is going to kill him. But, if they pull this off, she’ll still exist. That will be something worth celebrating, assuming Neal doesn’t kill him because of the words that come out of his mouth next.

“We need to get Emma and Hook to kiss.”  
  
Neal recoils as if Gideon had just burned him. “What.” It’s not a question.

“We need to find a way for Hook and Emma to kiss. They had their first kiss in Neverland, you see, and I know for a fact that the events that led to that kiss didn’t happen, which means that they likely didn’t kiss.” His explanation feels silly, because a kiss feel simple, not monumental. But it’s the first kiss in a series of many more kisses, that will ultimately lead to a fuller and happier life.

“I don’t get it. You’re worked up over them kissing? Wait--first kiss? How many times do they kiss?”

“It’s never crossed my mind to keep count.”  _ Now, that’s a train of thought I don’t need to follow.  _  Gideon shakes his head, he needs to focus. As expected, Neal isn’t handling the information well. “As for the ‘getting worked up over them kissing’ part, that kiss kind of sets up a chain of very important events. It’s a domino effect.”

“He ran away with my mom, and now he’s kissing the mother of my son. That’s a little messed up, don’t you think?”

“I told you that you wouldn’t like what we had to do.”

“I can’t...I don’t understand how that kiss helps keep Emma and Henry safe.” Neal looks utterly defeated. Gideon wonders how he would feel if someone said that Juliet absolutely needed to be kissing someone else. He decides not to dwell on the thought. 

“Like I said, it’s a domino effect. I can’t fully quantify it, but trust me when I say that their futures as I know it depend on this kiss. My future own depends on this kiss.”

“Your future? How--” He stops, eyes widening in realization. He shakes his head. “No, no, no, no.”

Gideon doesn’t know what to say, so he keeps his mouth shut. He’s at a loss for what to do. His mother would know what to say -- she’s the most empathetic person he knows. He’d inherited Belle’s love of books, but not this. For as long as he’s known her, she’s always found a way to bond and sympathize with strangers. Blood relations or not, Neal is still a stranger to Gideon, making it all the harder. 

“God, and I thought she was mine and Emma’s kid. Guess I was half right, huh?” Neal turns away from Gideon, and kicks angrily at a ground. “Seriously? Her and him?”

“If it makes you feel better, they’re very happy together.”

“It doesn’t.”

Gideon bites his lip. Unsure of what else to say on the topic of the Swan-Jones relationship, he attempts a different tactic. “He would talk about you to me. Hook, I mean, in the future. Even before Juliet and I were together, we’d talk about you and he’d tell me stories.”

“To ease his guilty conscience,” Neal snorts.

“Maybe, but not in the way you think,” Gideon tells him. It’s strange to defend Juliet’s father to his brother. He recognizes the reasons why Neal resents them, but the Killian Jones Gideon knows is so far removed from one Neal knows, knew. “He told me once that one of his biggest regrets in life was what happened between you and him and Pan. I’m pretty sure he and our father have talked about you, but I’m pretty sure they’d both deny it if anyone asked.”

“Gideon, I’m glad you like your girlfriend’s father,” Neal begins, and Gideon realizes this is the first time he has said his realization aloud, “but Killian Jones is the last person I want in this scenario. He destroyed my family, and you’re asking me to help make sure he raises my son with the woman I love while I...while I’m dead.”

“Then don’t do it for him. Do it for me, your brother. Do it for Juliet, who has no control over who her parents are.” Gideon grabs Neal’s arm, forcing Neal to finally look him in the eyes. “You’re hurt and you’re angry, and that’s a perfectly understandable way to feel. But don’t let your feelings result in either me or Juliet getting harmed. I spent my entire life wondering who you were, don’t let it be this.That’s not fair. Hook, Henry, Emma -- they all told me that you were a hero. So prove it. Be a hero.”

“Just--can you give me a moment, please?” Neal asks, his anger giving way to something that sounds a lot like defeat. “Let me think. You owe me that.”

Gideon opens his mouth to argue that he doesn’t owe Neal anything right now, but he finds himself saying, “Yeah, we can wait.”

Neal moves away, sitting at the edge of the pond. Gideon hesitates before joining him. Silently, they sit and stare at the water. Moonlight cuts through the dense foliage of the jungle, creating slivers of light on the water.  _ It’s beautiful, _ Gideon thinks. Years earlier, he and Juliet had rented a cabin upstate. The cabin was by the lake, and he remembers the two of them sitting laying on the bank, looking up the stars. They’d discussed their hopes and dreams, and began to tentatively make plans for the future they might have together. Sitting beside his brother, Gideon wonders if that future might ever come to pass. 


End file.
